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THE 

COMPLETE GOLFER 



BY 



HARRY VARDON 

OPEN CHAMPION, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903 
AMERICAN CHAMPION, 190O 



WITH SIXTY-SIX ILLUSTRATIONS 



NEW YORK: McCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO. 

LONDON : METHUEN & CO. 

1907 






By trans > er 
The V?hite House 
March 3rd, 1913 






PREFACE 

MANY times I have been strongly advised to write a 
book on golf, and now I offer a volume to the great 
and increasing public who are devoted to the game. So far 
as the instructional part of the book is concerned, I may say 
that, while I have had the needs of the novice constantly in 
mind, and have endeavoured to the best of my ability to put 
him on the right road to success, I have also presented the 
full fruits of my experience in regard to the fine points of the 
game, so that what I have written may be of advantage to 
improving golfers of all degrees of skill. There are some 
things in golf which cannot be explained in writing, or for 
the matter of that even by practical demonstration on the 
links. They come to the golfer only through instinct and 
experience. But I am far from believing that, as is so often 
said, a player can learn next to nothing from a book. If he 
goes about his golf in the proper manner he can learn very 
much indeed. The services of a competent tutor will be as 
necessary to him as ever, and I must not be understood to 
suggest that this work can to any extent take the place of 
that compulsory and most invaluable tuition. On the other 
hand, it is next to impossible for a tutor to tell a pupil on the 
links everything about any particular stroke while he is 
playing it, and if he could it would not be remembered. 
Therefore I hope and think that, in conjunction with careful 
coaching by those who are qualified for the task, and by 
immediate and constant practice of the methods which I set 
forth, this book may be of service to all who aspire to play a 
really good game. If any player of the first degree of skill 
should take exception to any of these methods, I have only 
b 



vi PREFACE 

one answer to make, and that is that, just as they are 
explained in the following pages, they are precisely those 
which helped me to win my five championships. These 
and no others I practise every day upon the links. I 
attach great importance to the photographs and the accom- 
panying diagrams, the objects of which are simplicity 
and lucidity. When a golfer is in difficulty with any parti- 
cular stroke — and the best of us are constantly in trouble 
with some stroke or other — I think that a careful examina- 
tion of the pictures relating to that stroke will frequently put 
him right, while a glance at the companion in the " How not 
to do it " series may reveal to him at once the error into 
which he has fallen and which has hitherto defied detection. 
All the illustrations in this volume have been prepared from 
photographs of myself in the act of playing the different 
strokes on the Totteridge links last autumn. Each stroke 
was carefully studied at the time for absolute exactness, and 
the pictures now reproduced were finally selected by me 
from about two hundred which were taken. In order to 
obtain complete satisfaction, I found it necessary to have 
a few of the negatives repeated after the winter had set in, 
and there was a slight fall of snow the night before the 
morning appointed for the purpose. I owe so much — every- 
thing — to the great game of golf, which I love very dearly, 
and which I believe is without a superior for deep human 
and sporting interest, that I shall feel very delighted if my 
"Complete Golfer" is found of any benefit to others who 
play or are about to play. I give my good wishes to every 
golfer, and express the hope to each that he may one day 
regard himself as complete. I fear that, in the playing 
sense, this is an impossible ideal. However, he may in time 
be nearly " dead " in his " approach " to it. 

I have specially to thank Mr. Henry Leach for the invaluable 
services he has rendered to me in the preparation of the work. 

H. V. 

Totteridge, May 1905, 



CONTENTS! 

CHAPTER 1 

FAGS 

Golf at Home • . . . . • . i 

The happy golfer — A beginning at Jersey — The Vardon family — An 
anxious tutor — Golfers come to Grouville — A fine natural course 
— Initiation as a caddie — Primitive golf — How we made our clubs 
— Matches in the moonlight — Early progress — The study of 
methods — Not a single lesson — I become a gardener — The advice 
of my employer — "Never give up golf" — A nervous player to 
begin with — My first competition— My brother Tom leaves home 
— He wins a prize at Musselburgh — I decide for professionalism — 
An appointment at Ripon. 

CHAPTER II 
Some Reminiscences . . . . , .11 

Not enough golf — " Reduced to cricket" — I move to Bury — A match 
with Alexander Herd — No more nerves — Third place in an open 
competition — I play for the Championship — A success at Portrush 
— Some conversation and a match with Andrew Kirkaldy — Fifth 
for the Championship at Sandwich — Second at the Deal tourna- 
ment — Eighth in the Championship at St. Andrews — I go to 
Ganton — An invitation to the south of France — The Championship 
at Muirfield — An exciting finish — A stiff problem at the last hole 
— I tie with Taylor — We play off, and I win the Championship — 
A tale of a putter — Ben Sayers wants a "wun"' — What Andrew 
thought of Muirfield — I win the Championship again at Prestwick 
— Willie Park as runner-up — My great match with Park — Excel- 
lent arrangements — A welcome victory — On money matches in 
general — My third Championship at Sandwich — My fourth at 
Prestwick — Golf under difficulties. 

CHAPTER III 
The Way to Golf ....... 25 

The mistakes of the beginner — Too eager to play a round — Despair 
that follows — A settling down to mediocrity — All men may excel 



viii CONTENTS 

— ^The sorrows of a foozler — My advice — Three months' practice 
to begin with — The makings of a player — Good golf is best — How 
Mr. Balfour learned the game — A wise example — Go to the pro- 
fessional — The importance of beginning well — Practise with each 
club separately — Driver, brassy, cleek, iron, mashie, and putter — 
Into the hole at last — Master of a bag of clubs — The first match 
— How long drives are made — Why few good players are coming 
on — Golf is learned too casually. 

CHAPTER IV 
The Choice and Care of Clubs . . , -37 

Difficulties of choice — A long search for the best — Experiments with 
more than a hundred irons — Buy few clubs to begin with — Take 
the professional's advice — A preliminary set of six — Points of the 
driver — Scared wooden clubs are best — Disadvantages of the 
socket — Fancy faces — Short heads — Whip in the shaft — ^The ques- 
tion of weight — Match the brassy with the driver — Reserve clubs — 
Kinds of cleeks — Irons and mashies — The niblick — The putting 
problem — It is the man who putts and not the putter — Recent 
inventions — Short shafts for all clubs — Lengths and weights of 
those I use — Be careful of your clubs — Hints for preserving them. 

CHAPTER V 
Driving — Preliminaries ...... ja 

Advantage of a good drive — And the pleasure of it — More about the 
driver — Tee low — ^Why high tees are bad — The question of stance 
Eccentricities and bad habits — Begin in good style — Measurements 
of the stance — The reason why — The grip of the club — My own 
method and its advantages — Two hands like one — Comparative 
tightness of the hands — Variations during the swing — Certain dis- 
advantages of the two-V grip — Addressing the ball — Freaks of 
style — How they must be compensated for — Too much waggling 
— The point to look at — Not the top of the ball, but the side of it. 

CHAPTER VI 
Driving— The Swing of the Club . . , .64 

" Slow back " — The line of the club head in the upward swing — The 
golfer's head must be kept rigid — ^The action of the wrists — 
Position at the top of the swing — Movements of the arms — Pivot- 
ing of the body — No swaying — Action of the feet and legs — Speed 
of the club during the swing — The moment of impact — More about 
the wrists — No pure wrist shot in golf— The follow-through — 
Timing of the body action — Arms and hands high up at the finish 



CONTENTS a 

PACK 

— How bad drives are made — The causes of slicing — "When the 
ball is pulled — Misapprehensions as to slicing and pulling — Drop- 
ping of the right shoulder — Its evil consequences — No trick in long 
driving — Hit properly and hard — What is pressing and what is not 
— Summary of the drive. 

CHAPTER VII 
Brassy and Spoon . . . . . • .78 

Good strokes with the brassy — Play as with the driver — The points of 
the brassy — The stance — ^Where and how to hit the ball — Pla3dng 
from cuppy lies— Jab strokes from badly-cupped lies — A difficult 
club to master — The man with the spoon — The lie for the baffy — 
What it can and cannot do — Character of the club — The stance 
— Tee shots with the baffy — Iron clubs are better. 

CHAPTER VIII 
Special Strokes with Wooden Clubs . . . .85 

The master stroke in golf — Intentional pulling and slicing — The 
contrariness of golf — When pulls and slices are needful — The 
stance for the slice — ^The upward swing — How the slice is made 
— The short sliced stroke — Great profits that result — Warnings 
against irregularities — How to pull a ball — The way to stand — 
The work of the right hand — A feature of the address — What 
makes a pull — Effect of wind on the flight of the ball — Greatly 
exaggerated notions — How wind increases the effect of slicing and 
pulling — Playing through a cross wind — The shot for a head wind 
— A special way of hitting the ball — A long low flight — When the 
wind comes from behind. 

CHAPTER IX 
The Cleek and Driving Mashie . . . .98 

A test of the golfer — The versatility of the cleek — Different kinds of 
cleeks — Points of the driving mashie — Difficulty of continued 
success with it — The cleek is more reliable — Ribbed faces for 
iron clubs — To prevent skidding — The stance for an ordinary 
cleek shot — The swing — Keeping control over the right shoulder 
— Advantages of the three-quarter cleek shot — The push shot — 
My favourite stroke — The stance and the swing — The way to hit 
the ball — Peculiar advantages of flight from the push stroke- 
When it should not be attempted — The advantage of short swings 
as against full swings with iron clubs — Playing for a low ball 
against the wind — A particular stance — Comparisons of the 
different cleek shots — General observations and recommendations 
— Mistakes made with the cleek. 



z CONTENTS 

CHAPTER X 
Play with the Iron . . . , , .112 

The average player's favourite club — Fine work for the iron^ — Its 
points — The right and the wrong time for play with it — Stance 
measurements — A warning concerning the address — The cause of 
much bad play with the iron — The swing — Half shots with the 
iron — The regulation of power — Features of erratic play — Forced 
and checked swings — Common causes of duffed strokes — Swings 
that are worthless. 

CHAPTER XI 
Approaching WITH THE Mashie . . , . .118 

The great advantage of good approach play — A fascinating club — 
Characteristics of a good mashie — Different kinds of strokes with 
it — No purely wrist shot — Stance and grip — Position of the body 
— No pivoting on the left toe — The limit of distance — Avoid a 
full swing — The half iron as against the full mashie — The swing 
— How not to loft — On scooping the ball — Taking a divot — The 
running-up approach — A very valuable stroke — The club to use 
— A tight grip with the right hand — Peculiarities of the swing — 
The calculation of pitch and run — The application of cut and 
spin — A stroke that is sometimes necessary — Standing for a cut 
— Method of swinging and hitting the ball — The chip on to the 
green — Points of the jigger. 

CHAPTER XII 
On being Bunkered . . . . . • 131 

The philosopher in a bunker — On making certain of getting out — 
The folly of trying for length — When to play back — The qualities 
of the niblick — Stance and swing — How much sand to take — The 
time to press — No follow-through in a bunker — Desperate cases — 
The brassy in a bunker — Difficulties through prohibited grounding 
— Play straight when length is imperative — Cutting with the niblick. 

CHAPTER XIII 
Simple Putting . . . . . . .141 

A game within another game — Putting is not to be taught — The 
advantage of experience — Vexation of missing short putts — Some 
anecdotes — Individuality in putting — The golfer's natural system — 
How to find it — And when found make a note of it — The quality 
of instinct—All sorts of putters — How I once putted for a 
Championship — The part that the right hand plays — The manner 



CONTENTS xi 

FAGB 

of hitting the ball— On always being up and "giving the hole a 
chance " — Easier to putt back after overrunning tlmn when short — 
The trouble of Tom Morris. 



CHAPTER XIV 
Complicated Putts . . . . . .150 

Problems on undulating greens — The value of practice — Difficulties 
of calculation — The cut stroke with the putter — How to make it — 
When it is useful — Putting against a sideways slope — A straighter 
line for the hole — Putting down a hill — Applying drag to the ball 
— The use of the mashie on the putting-green — Stymies — When 
they are negotiable and when not — The wisdom of playing for a 
half— Lofting over the stymie — The run-through method — Running 
through the stymie — How to play the stroke, and its advantages — 
Fast greens for fancy strokes — On gauging the speed of a green. 

CHAPTER XV 
Some General Hints . . . . . .160 

Too much golf— Analysis 'of good strokes — One's attitude towards 
one's opponent — Inaccurate counting of strokes — Tactics in match 
play — Slow couples on the course — Asking for halves — On not 
holing out when the half is given — Golfing attire — Braces better 
than belts — Shoes better than boots — How the soles should be 
nailed — On counting your strokes — Insisting on the rules — Play in 
frosty weather — Chalked faces for wet days — Against gloves — 
Concerning clubs — When confidence in a club is lost — Make up 
your mind about your shot — The golfer's lunch — Keeping the eye 
on the ball — The life of a rubber-core — A clean ball — The caddie's 
advice — Forebodings of failure — Experiments at the wrong time — 
One kind of golf at a time — Bogey beaten, but how ? — Tips for tee 
shots — As to pressing — The short approach and the wayward eye 
— Swinging too much — For those with defective sight — Your 
opponent's caddie — Making holes in the bunkers — The golfer's 
first duty — Swinging on the putting-greens — Practise difficult shots 
and not easy ones, etc. 

CHAPTER XVI 
Competition Play . . . . , , .177 

Its difficulties — Nerves are fatal — The philosophic spirit — Experience 
and steadiness — The torn card — Too much hurry to give up — A 
story and a moral — Indifference to your opponent's brilliance — 
Never slacken when up — The best test of golf— If golf were always 



xii CONTENTS 

easy — Cautious play in medal rounds — Risks to be taken — The 
bold ^me in match play — Studying the course — Risks that are 
foolishly taken — New clubs in competitions — On giving them a 
trial — No training necessary — As to the pipe and glass — How to be 
at one's best and keenest — On playing in the morning — In case of 
a late draw — ^Watch your opponents. , 



CHAPTER XVII 
On Foursomes . . . . . . .188 

The four-ball foursome — Its inferiority to the old-fashioned game — 
The case of the long-handicap man — Confusion on the greens — 
The man who drives last — The old-fashioned two-ball foursome 
— Against too many foursomes — Partners and each other — Fitting 
in their different games — The man to oblige — The policy of the 
long-handicap man — How he drove and missed in the good old 
days — On laying your partner a stymie — A preliminary considera- 
tion of the round — Handicapping in foursomes — A too delicate 
reckoning of strokes given and received — A good foursome and 
the excitement thereof — A caddie killed and a hole lost — A 
compliment to a golfer. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
Golf for Ladies . . . . . . . ^98 

As to its being a ladies' game — A sport of freedom — The lady on the 
links — The American lady golfer — English ladies are improving — 
Where they fail, and why — Good pupils — The same game as the 
man*s — No short swings for ladies — Clubs of too light weight — 
Their disadvantages — A common fault with the sex — Bad back- 
ward swings — The lady who will find out for herself — Foundations 
of a bad style — The way to success. 



CHAPTER XIX 
The Construction of Courses . . . . .205 

Necessity for thought and ingenuity — The long-handicap man's 
course — The scratch player's — How good courses are made — The 
necessary land — A long nine-hole course better than a short 
eighteen — The preliminary survey — A patient study of possibilities 
— Stakes at the holes — Removal of natural disadvantages — 
" Penny wise and pound foolish " — The selection of teeing grounds 
— A few trial drives — The arrangement of long and short holes — 
The best two-shot and three-shot holes — Bunkers and where to 



CONTENTS xiii 

PAGE 

place them — The class of player to cater for — The scratch man*s 
game — ^The shots to be punished — Bunkers down the sides — 
The best putting greens — Two tees to each hole — Seaside courses. 

CHAPTER XX 
Links I have Played on . . . . . .219 

Many first-class links — The best of all — Sandwich— Merits of the 
Royal St. George's course — Punishments for faults and rewards for 
virtue — Not a short course — ^The best hole — ^The Maiden — Other 
good holes — Prestwick an excellent course — The third and the 
ninth holes — The finest hole anywhere — Hoylake — Two or three 
tame holes — A means of improvement — Good hazards and a 
premium on straight play — St. Andrews — Badly-placed bunkers 
—A good second hole — The finest one-shot hole to be found any- 
where — ^An unfair hole — The best holes at Muirfield — Troon — 
North Berwick — Cruden Bay — Dornoch — Machrihanish — A 
splendid course at Islay — The most difficult hole I know — Gullane — 
Kilspindie — Lufftiess — Links in Ireland — Portrush — Portmarnock 
— Dollymount — Lahinch — Newcastle — Welsh courses — Ashbum- 
ham — Harlech — On the south and south-west coasts — The rushes 
at Westward Ho ! — Newquay — Good holes at Deal — Littlestone 
— Rye — The advantage of Cromer — Brancaster — Hunstanton 
— Sheringham — Redcar — Seaton Carew — St. Anne's — Formby — 
Wallasey — Inland courses — Sunningdale — A splendid course — 
Another at Walton Heath — Huntercombe — London links — 
Courses in the country — Sheffield — Manchester — Huddersfield 
— "Inland" courses at the seaside — A warning, 

CHAPTER XXI 
Golf in America . . . . . . .232 

Good golf in the United States — My tour through the country — Mr. 
Travis's victory in our Amateur Championship — Not a surprise — 
The man who played the best golf — British amateurs must wake 
up — Other good Americans will come — Our casual methods of 
learning golf— The American system — My matches in the States 
— A good average — Driving well — Some substantial victories 
— Some difficult matches — Course records — Enthusiasm of the 
American crowds — The golf fever — The king of baseball takes 
to golf— The American Open Championship — A hard fight with 
J. H. Taylor — A welcome win — Curious experiences in Florida — 
Greens without grass — ^The plague of locusts — Some injury to my 
game — "Mr. Jones" — Fooling the caddies — Camping out on the 
links — Golf reporting in America — Ingenious and good — Mistakes 
made by non-golfing writers — Lipping the hole for a hundred 
dollars. 



xiv CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXII 

PAGB 

Concerning Caddies . . . . * .245 

Varieties of caddies — Advice to a left-handed player — Cock-shots at 
Ganton — Unearned increments — An offer to carry for the fun of 
the thing — The caddie who knows too much — My ideal caddie — 
His points — The girl caddie— A splendid type — Caddies' caustic 
humour — Some specimens of it — Mr. Balfour's taste in caddies — 
When the caddie is too anxious — Good human kindness — " Big 
Crawford " — " Lookin' aifter Maister Balfour " — An ingenious 
claim — A salute for the Chief Secretary — A story of a distressed 
clergyman — Sandy Smith — The clothes he wore — An excess of 
zeal — The caddies' common-sense — When his lot is not a happy 
one. 

CHAPTER XXIII 

Reflections and Recollections . . . .259 

Good golf to come— Giants of the past — The amateurs of to-day — The 
greatness of *' Freddy" Tait — Modern professionals — Good sports- 
men and good friends — A misconception — The constant strain — 
How we always play our best — Difficult tasks — No "close season" 
in golf— Spectators at big inatches — Certain anecdotes — Putting 
for applause — Shovelling from a bunker — The greatest match I 
have ever played in — A curious incident — A record in halves — A 
coincidence — The exasperation of Andrew — The coming of spring 
— The joyful golfer. 

Appendix (Rules of the Game) * . » « . 267 

Index . • » . • • • « •379 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Portrait .... 

Plate 

I. My set of clubs . 
II. The grip with the left hand 

III. The overlapping grip 

IV. The overlapping grip 
V. The overlapping grip 

VI. Driver and brassy. The stance 
VII. Driver and brassy. 
VIII. Driver and brassy. 

IX. Driver and brassy. 

X. How not to drive 

XI. How not to drive 
XII. How not to drive 

XIII. How not to drive 

XIV. Driver and brassy. 
XV. Driver and brassy. 

XVI. Driver and brassy. 

XVII. Driver and brassy. 

XVIII. Driver and brassy. 

XIX. Driver and brassy. 

XX. Driver and brassy. 

XXI Driver and brassy. 



Top of the swing 

Top of the swing from behind 

Finish of the swing 



Stance when plajdng for a slice 
Top of the swing when plapng for a slice 
Finish when playing for a slice 
Playing for a pull. Stance . 
Top of the swing when playing for a pull 
Finish when pla3dng for a pull 
Stance for a low ball against the wind 
Stance for a high ball with the wind 
XXII. Full shot with the cleek. Stance 

XXIII. Full shot with the cleek. Top of the swing 

XXIV. Full shot with the cleek. Finish 
XXV. Full shot with the cleek. Finish 

XXVI. The push shot with the cleek. Stance . 
XXVII. The push shot with the cleek. Top of the swing 
XXVIII. The push shot with the cleek. Finish . 
XXIX. A low ball (against wind) with the cleek. Stance 
XXX. A low ball (against wind) with the cleek. Top of the swing 
XXXI. A low ball (against wind) with the cleek. Finish 
XXXII. Faulty play with the cleek .... 

XXXIII. Faulty play with the cleek .... 

XXXIV. Faulty play with the cleek .... 
XXXV. Faulty play with the cleek .... 



Frontispiece 

48 

58 
58 
58 
58 

66 
66 
66 
66 
72 
72 
72 
72 
86 
86 
86 
90 
90 
90 
96 
96 
102 
102 
102 
102 
106 
106 
106 
106 
106 
106 
no 
no 
no 
no 



xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Plate Pack 

IIO 
114 
114 
114 
114 
114 
114 
122 
122 
122 
122 
122 
122 



XXXVI. Faulty play with the cleek . . • . 

XXXVII. Full iron shot. Stance . . . , , 

XXXVIII. Full iron shot. Top of the swing 

XXXIX. Full iron shot. Finish . . . , , 

XL. Play with the iron for a low ball (against wind). Stance 

XLI. Play with the iron for a low ball (agaisst wind). Top of the swing 

XLii. Play with the iron for a low ball (against wind). Finish 

XLill. Mashie approach (pitch and run). Stance 

XLIV. Mashie approach (pitch and run). Top of the swing 

XLV. Mashie approach (pitch and run). Finish 

XLVI. Mistakes with the mashie . . . , 

XLVII. Mistakes with the mashie . . . , 

XLVIII. Mistakes with the mashie 

XLIX. Running-up approach with mashie or iron. Finish, with stance 

also indicated ..... 

L. A cut approach with the mashie. Stance 

LI. A cut approach with the mashie. Top of the swing 

LII. A cut approach with the mashie. Finish 

Llll. The niblick in a bunker. Top of an ordinary stroke when it is 

intended to take much sand 
LIV. ** Well out ! " Finish of an ordinary stroke in a bunker when 

much sand is taken 
LV. Another bunker stroke. Top of the swing when intending to 

take the ball cleanly and with a little cut 
LVI. Finish, after taking the ball cleanly from a bunker 
LVii. Putting ...,., 
LViil. Putting ..... • 

Diagrams. 

Trajectory of ball when a distant slice is required . 

Trajectory of ball in the case of a quick slice • 

Method and effect of pulling into a cross wind from the right 

The push shot with the cleek 

Putting with cut on a sloping green 

Nails in golfing boots and shoes 

Points to look at when addressing the ball 



122 
122 
122 

122 

136 

136 

136 
136 
146 
146 



89 

90 

94 
106 

154 
167 
170 



THE COMPLETE GOLFER 



CHAPTER I 
GOLF AT HOME 

The happy golfer — A beginning at Jersey — The Vardon family— An anxious 
tutor — Golfers come to Grouville — A fine natural course — Initiation as a 
caddie — Primitive golf — How we made our clubs — Matches in the moon- 
light — Early progress — The study of methods — Not a single lesson — I 
become a gardener — The advice of my employer — "Never give up golf" 
— A nervous player to begin with — My first competition — My brother Tom 
leaves home — He wins a prize at Musselburgh — I decide for professionalism 
— An appointment at Ripon. 

I HAVE sometimes heard good golfers sigh regretfully, 
after holing out on the eighteenth green, that in the 
best of circumstances as to health and duration of life they 
cannot hope for more than another twenty, or thirty, or forty 
years of golf, and they are then very likely inclined to be a 
little bitter about the good years of their youth that they 
may have " wasted " at some other less fascinating sport. 
When the golfer's mind turns to reflections such as these, 
you may depend upon it that it has been one of those days 
when everything has gone right and nothing wrong, and the 
supreme joy of life has been experienced on the links. The 
little white ball has seemed possessed of a soul — a soul full 
of kindness and the desire for doing good. The clubs have 
seemed endowed with some subtle qualities that had rarely 
been discovered in them before. Their He, their balance, 
their whip, have appeared to reach the ideal, and such com- 



2 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

mand has been felt over them as over a dissecting instrument 
in the hands of a skilful surgeon. The sun has been shining 
and the atmosphere has sparkled when, flicked cleanly from 
the tee, the rubber-cored ball has been sent singing through 
the air. The drives have all been long and straight, the 
brassy shots well up, the approaches mostly dead, and the 
putts have taken the true line to the tin. Hole after hole has 
been done in bogey, and here and there the common enemy 
has been beaten by a stroke. Perhaps the result is a record 
round, and, so great is the enthusiasm for the game at this 
moment, that it is regarded as a great misfortune that the 
sun has set and there is no more light left for play. These 
are the times when the golfer's pulse beats strong, and he 
feels the remorse of the man with the misspent youth because 
he was grown up and his limbs were setting before ever he 
teed a ball. 

Well, at least I can say that I have not missed much of 
the game that I love with a great fondness, for I played a 
kind of prehistoric golf when I was a bad boy of seven, and off 
and on I have played it ever since. It was fortunate for me 
that the common land at Jersey was years ago the ideal 
thing for a golfing links, and that golfers from abroad found 
out its secret, as they always do. If they had failed to do so 
in this case, I might still have been spending my life in horti- 
cultural pursuits. For I was born (on May 9, 1870) and bred 
in Jersey, at that little place called Grouville, which is no 
more than a collection of scattered cottages and farmhouses 
a few miles from St. Heliers. Both my parents were natives 
of Jersey, and my father, who was seventy-four on the 5 th of 
last November, has been a gardener there all his life, holding 
the proud record of having changed his place of employment 
only once during the whole period. There was a big family 
of us — six boys and two girls — and all, except one of my 
sisters, are still alive. My brothers were George, Phil, 
Edward, Tom, and Fred, and I came fourth down the list, 
after Edward. As most golfers know, my brother Tom, to 



GOLF AT HOME 8 

whom I owe very much, is now the professional at the Royal 
St. George's Club at Sandwich, while Fred is a professional 
in the Isle of Man. In due course we all went to the little 
village school ; but I fear, from all that I can remember, and 
from what I have been told, that knowledge had little attrac- 
tion for me in those days, and I know that I very often 
played truant, sometimes for three weeks at a stretch. Con- 
sequently my old schoolmaster, Mr. Boomer, had no parti- 
cular reason to be proud of me at that time, as he seems to 
have become since. He never enjoys a holiday so much in 
these days as when he comes over from Jersey to see me 
play for the Open Championship, as he does whenever 
the meeting is held at Sandwich. But when I did win a 
Championship on that course, he was so nervous and excited 
about my play and my prospects that he felt himself unequal 
to watching me, and during most of the time that I was 
doing my four rounds he was sitting in a fretful state upon 
the seashore. I was a thin and rather delicate boy with not 
much physical strength, but I was as enthusiastic as the 
others in the games that were played at that time, and my 
first ambition was to excel at cricket. A while afterwards I 
became attached to football, and I retained some fondness 
for this game long after I took up golf. Even after my 
golfing tour in America a few years ago, when quite at my 
best, I captained the Ganton football team and played 
regularly in its matches. 

One day, when I was about seven years of age, a very 
shocking thing happened at Grouville. All the people there 
lived a quiet, undisturbed life, and had a very wholesome 
respect for the sanctity of the Sabbath day. But of all days 
of the week it was a Sunday when a small party of strange 
gentlemen made their appearance on the common land, and 
began to survey and to mark out places for greens and tees. 
Then the story went about that they were making prepara- 
tions to play a game called golf. That was enough to excite 
the wrathful indignation of all the tenant-farmers round 



4 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

about, and without delay they began to think out means for 
expelling these trespassers from the common land. A tale 
of indignation spread through Grouville, and these golfers, of 
whom I remember that Mr. Brewster was one, were not at 
first regarded in the light of friendship. But they soon made 
their position secure by obtaining all necessary authority and 
permission for what they were about to do from the constable 
of the parish, and from that day we had to resign ourselves 
to the fact that a new feature had entered into the quiet life 
of Jersey. The little party went ahead with the marking 
out of their course, though indeed the natural state of the 
place was so perfect from the golfer's point of view that very 
little work was necessary, and no first-class golf links was 
ever made more easily. There were sand and other natural 
hazards everywhere, the grass was short and springy just as 
it is on all good sea-coast links, and all that it was necessary 
to do was to put a flag down where each hole was going to 
be, and run the mower and the roller over the space selected 
for the putting green. Rooms were rented at a little inn 
hard by, which was forthwith rechristened the Golf Inn, and 
the headquarters of the Jersey golfers are still at the same 
place, though a large club-room has been added. That was 
the beginning of the Royal Jersey Golf Club. The links as 
they were when they were first completed were really 
excellent — much better than they are to-day, for since then, 
in order to prevent the sand being blown all over the course 
by the strong winds which sweep across the island, the 
bunkers have in most cases been filled with clay, which has 
to a great extent spoiled them. 

When everything was ready, more of these golfers came 
across from England to play this new game which we had 
never seen before, and all the youngsters of the locality were 
enticed into their service to carry their clubs. I was among 
the number, and that was my first introduction to the game. 
We did not think much of it upon our first experience ; but 
after we had carried for a few rounds we came to see that 



GOLF AT HOME 5 

it contained more than we had imagined. Then we were 
seized with a desire to play it ourselves, and discover what 
we could do. But we had no links to play upon, no clubs, 
no balls, and no money. However, we surmounted all these 
difficulties. To begin with, we laid out a special course of 
our very own. It consisted of only four holes, and each one 
of them was only about fifty yards long, but for boys of 
seven that was quite enough. We made our teeing grounds, 
smoothed out the greens, and, so far as this part of the 
business was concerned, we were soon ready for play. There 
was no difficulty about balls, for we decided at once that the 
most suitable article for us, in the absence of real gutties, was 
the big white marble which we called a taw, and which was 
about half the size of an ordinary golf ball, or perhaps a little 
less than that. But there was some anxiety in our juvenile 
minds when the question of clubs came to be considered, and 
I think we deserved credit for the manner in which we dis- 
posed of it. It was apparent that nothing would be satis- 
factory except a club fashioned on the lines of a real golf 
club, and that to procure anything of the sort we should have 
to make it ourselves. Therefore, after several experiments, 
we decided that we would use for the purpose the hard wood 
of the tree which we called the lady oak. To make a club 
we cut a thick branch from the tree, sawed off a few inches 
from it, and then trimmed this piece so that it had a faint 
resemblance to the heads of the drivers we had seen used on 
the links. Any elaborate splicing operations were out of the 
question, so we agreed that we must bore a hole in the 
centre of the head. The shaft sticks that we chose and 
trimmed were made of good thorn, white or black, and when 
we had prepared them to our satisfaction we put the poker 
in the fire and made it red hot, then bored a hole with it 
through the head, and tightened the shaft with wedges until 
the club was complete. With this primitive driver we could 
get what was for our diminutive limbs a really long ball, or 
a long taw as one should say. In these later days a patent 



6 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

has been taken out for drivers with the shaft let into the 
head, which are to all intents and purposes the same in 
principle as those which we used to make at Grouville. 

By and by some of us became quite expert at the 
making of these clubs, and we set ourselves to discover 
ways and means of improving them. The greater elabora- 
tion of such brassies as we had seen impressed us, and we 
also found some trouble with our oak heads in that, being 
green, they were rather inclined to chip and crack. Ulti- 
mately we decided to sheathe the heads entirely with tin. 
It was not an easy thing to make a good job of this, and we 
were further troubled by the circumstance that our respective 
fathers had no sympathy with us, and declined upon any 
account to lend us their tools. Consequently we had no 
option but to wait until the coast was clear and then sur- 
reptitiously borrow the tools for an hour or two. We called 
these tin-plated drivers our brassies, and they were certainly 
an improvement on our original clubs. Occasionally a club 
was made in this manner which exhibited properties superior 
to those possessed by any other, as clubs will do even 
to-day. Forthwith the reputation of the maker of this club 
went up by leaps and bounds, and he was petitioned by 
others to make clubs for them, a heavy price in taws and 
marbles being offered for the service. The club that had 
created all this stir would change hands two or three times 
at an increasing price until it required the payment of four 
or five dozen marbles to become possessed of it. But the 
boy who owned the treasure was looked upon as the lord of 
the manor, and odds were demanded of him in the matches 
that we played. 

We practised our very elementary kind of golf whenever 
we could, and were soon enthusiastic. I remember par- 
ticularly that many of our best matches were played in 
the moonlight. The moon seemed to shine more clearly at 
Jersey than in England, and we could see splendidly. Four 
of us would go out together on a moonlight night to play, 



GOLF AT HOME 7 

and our little competition was arranged on the medal system 
by scores. Usually a few marbles were at stake. To pre- 
vent the loss of taws one of us was sent ahead to watch for 
their coming and listen for the faint thud of their fall, while 
the other three drove from the tee. Then the three came 
forward while the watcher went back to drive, and I am 
sorry to say that our keenness in those days led us to disre- 
gard certain principles of the sportsman's code of honour 
which we appreciated better as we grew up. What I mean 
is that the watcher was often handicapped in a way that he 
little suspected, for when he went back to the tee, and we 
went forward and found that our balls were not always so 
well up as we had hoped, we gave them a gentle kick for- 
wards ; for in the dim light we were able to do this unknown 
to each other. But in legitimate play we often got a 3 
at these fifty-yard holes, and with our home-made clubs, our 
little white taws, our lack of knowledge, and our physical 
feebleness all taken into consideration, I say we have often 
done less creditable things since then. 

After such beginnings, we progressed very well. We 
began to carry more and more for the golfers who came to 
Grouville ; we found or were given real balls that took the 
place of the taws, and then a damaged club occasionally 
came our way, and was repaired and brought into our own 
service. Usually it was necessary to put in new shafts, and 
so we burnt holes in the heads and put in the sticks, as we 
did with clubs of our own make ; but these converted clubs 
were disappointing in the matter of durability. It happened 
once or twice that golfers for whom we had been carrying 
gave us an undamaged club as a reward for our enthusiasm, 
and we were greatly excited and encouraged when such a 
thing happened. I used to carry clubs about twice a week. 
I remember that Mr. Molesworth and Dr. Purves, both well 
known in the golfing world, were two players for whom I 
very often carried, and only the other day when I saw the 
former at the Professional Tournament at Richmond, watch- 



8 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

ing the play, I was able to remind him of those times and of 
a particular shot he once played. We young caddies were 
very eager to learn the game thoroughly, and we were in the 
habit of watching these golfers very closely, comparing their 
styles, and then copying anything from them that seemed to 
take our fancy. I may say at once, in reply to a question 
that I am often asked, and which perhaps my present readers 
may themselves be inclined to put, that I have never in my 
life taken a single golfing lesson from anyone, and that what- 
ever style I may possess is purely the result of watching 
others play and copying them when I thought they made a 
stroke in a particularly easy and satisfactory manner. It 
was my habit for very many years after these early days, 
until in fact I had won the Open Championship, to study 
the methods of good golfers in this way, and there are few 
from whom one is not able to learn something. I cannot 
say that the pla/ of any one man particularly impressed me ; 
I cannot point to any player, past or present, and declare 
that I modelled my style on his. It seemed to me that I 
took a little from one and a little from another until my 
swing was a composition of the swings of several players, 
and my approach shots likewise were of a very mixed 
parentage. Of course when I took a hint from the play of 
anyone I had been watching it required much subsequent 
practice properly to weld it into my own system; but I 
think that this close watching of good players, and the 
borrowing from their styles of all information that you 
think is good, and then constantly practising the new idea 
yourself, is an excellent method of improving your golf, 
though I do not recommend it as the sole method of learn- 
ing, despite the success which I personally have achieved. 
However, this is a matter for later consideration. 

As we were such a large family and my father's means 
were very limited, there was the necessity which is common 
in such cases for all of the boys to turn out early in life and 
do something towards helping the others, and accordingly 



GOLF AT HOME 9 

1 went to work when I was thirteen. Some time afterwards 
I became gardener to the late Major Spofforth of Beauview, 
who was himself a very keen golfer, and who occasionally 
gave me some of his old clubs. Now and then, when he was 
in want of a partner, he used to take me out to play with 
him, and I shall never forget the words he spoke to me one 
day after we had played one of these matches. " Henry, my 
boy," he said, " take my advice, and never give up golf. It 
may be very useful to you some day." Certainly his words 
came true. I can only remember about these games that I 
was in the habit of getting very nervous over them, much 
more so than I did later on when I played matches of far 
more consequence. I joined a working men's golf club that 
had been formed, and it was through this agency that I won 
my first prize. A vase was offered for competition among 
the members, the conditions being that six medal rounds 
were to be played at the rate of one a month. When we 
had played five, I was leading by so very many strokes that 
it was next to impossible for any of the others to catch me 
up, and as just then my time came for leaving home and 
going out into the greater world of golf, the committee 
kindly gave me permission to play my last round two or 
three weeks before the proper time. It removed all doubt 
as to the destination of the prize, which has still one of the 
most honoured places on my mantelpiece. At that time my 
handicap for this club was plus 3, but that did not mean 
that I would have been plus 3 anywhere else. As a matter 
of fact, I should think I must have been about 8 or 10. 

By this time my younger brother Tom had already 
gone away to learn club-making from Lowe at St. Anne's- 
on-Sea. He played very much the same game of golf as I 
did at that time, and it was his venture and the success that 
waited upon it that made me determine to strike out. 
While Tom was at St. Anne's he went on a journey north 
to take part in a tournament at Musselburgh, where he 
captured the second prize. Thereupon I came to the con- 



10 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

elusion that, if Tom could do that, then I too with a little 
patience might do the same. Indeed, I was a very keen 
golfer just then. At last Lowe was summoned to Lord 
Ripon's place at Ripon, near Harrogate, to lay out a new 
nine-holes course, and Tom wrote to me saying that they 
would be wanting a professional there, and if I desired such 
an appointment I had better apply for it without delay. I 
did so, and was engaged. I was twenty years of age when 
I left home to assume these duties. 



CHAPTER II 
SOME REMINISCENCES 

Not enough golf— " Reduced to cricket" — I move to Bury — A match with 
Alexander Herd — No more nerves — Third place in an open competition — 
I play for the Championship — A success at Portrush — Some conversation 
and a match with Andrew Kirkaldy — Fifth for the Championship at 
Sandwich — Second at the Deal tournament — Eighth in the Championship 
at St. Andrews — I go to Ganton — An invitation to the south of France — 
The Championship at Muirfield — An exciting finish — A stiff problem at the 
last hole — I tie with Taylor — We play off, and I win the Championship — 
A tale of a putter — Ben Sayers wants a " wun'" — What Andrew thought of 
Muirfield — I win the Championship again at Prestwick — Willie Park as 
runner-up — My great match with Park — Excellent arrangements — A 
welcome victory — On money matches in general — My third Championship 
at Sandwich — My fourth at Prestwick — Golf under difiiculties. 

NO true golfer is satisfied with a little of the game, it 
there is no substantial reason why he should not 
have much of it. I was greenkeeper as well as professional 
to the Studley Royal Golf Club, Ripon ; but golf did not 
seem to have taken a very deep root there up to that time. 
There was so little of it played that I soon found time hang 
heavily upon my hands, and in the summer I was reduced 
to playing cricket, and in fact played more with the bat than 
I did with the driver. There were one or two good players 
on the links occasionally, and now and then I had some 
good games with visitors to the place. One day after such 
a match my opponent remarked very seriously to me, 
" Harry, if you take my advice you will get away from here 
as quickly as you can, as you don't get half enough golf to 
bring you out." I took the advice very much to heart. I 

was not unduly conceited about my golf in those days, and 

u 



n THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

the possibility of being Champion at some future time had 
taken no definite shape in my mind; but I was naturally 
ambitious and disinclined to waste any opportunities that 
might present themselves. So, when I saw that the Bury 
Golf Club were advertising for a professional, I applied for 
the post and got it. It was by no means a bad nine-holes 
course that I found at Bury, and I was enabled to play much 
more golf than at Ripon, while there were some very good 
amateurs there, Mr. S. F. Butcher being one of the best. I 
was now beginning to play fairly well, and the first profes- 
sional match of my life was arranged for me, Alexander Herd 
of Huddersfield being my opponent in this maiden effort, 
upon the result of which a stake of a few pounds a side 
depended. Herd was by that time a famous player and 
accomplishing some very fine golf, so that on paper at all 
events the unknown Bury professional had no chance what- 
ever. So indeed it proved. It was fixed that we were to 
play thirty-six holes, home and home. Herd having the 
privilege of playing on his own course first. I forget how 
many he was up at Huddersfield, but it was so many that I 
had practically no chance of wiping out the difference when 
I brought my opponent to Bury, and in the end he won 
quite easily. " Sandy " Herd, as we all call him, and I have 
had many great matches since then, and many of them of 
far greater consequence than this, but I shall never forget 
this beginning. Neither in those days, nor in the others that 
soon followed, when it became clear that I had a chance of 
becoming Champion, was I ever in the least troubled with 
nervousness. I was completely cured of my early complaint. 
Moreover, I have not known what it is to be nervous even 
in a Championship round when my fate depended upon 
almost every stroke, and particularly on those at the last 
few holes. The feeling that was always uppermost in my 
mind was that I had everything to gain and nothing to lose. 
It is only when a man has everything to lose and nothing to 
gain that he should become uneasy about his game. When 



SOME REMINISCENCES IS 

you have won a few prizes and there are critical eyes upon 
you, there may be some excuse for nerves, but not before. 
All young players should grasp the simple truth of this 
simple statement ; but it is surprising how many fail to do 
so. No stroke or game ever seemed to cause me any 
anxiety in those young days, and my rapid success may 
have been in a large measure due to this indifference. 

In 1893 I decided that I would enter for the Open 
Championship, which in that year was played for at Prest- 
wick, and I went north in company with my brother Tom, 
stopping on our way to take part in the tournament at 
Kilmalcolm, which was attended by most of the other 
professionals. I did fairly well in this, the first open 
competition for which I entered, being bracketed with poor 
Hugh Kirkaldy for third place. But I failed in the Cham- 
pionship competition, as, of course, I fully expected to do. 
That was Willie Auchterlonie's year, and I was some way 
down the list. I started in great style, and, though I broke 
down badly later on, there was just the consolation left 
for me that after all I did better than my partner, Willie 
Campbell. 

There were some curious circumstances attending the 
first big success of any kind that I achieved. This was at 
Portrush in Ireland, shortly after the Championship meeting, 
and the competition was a professional tournament. I was 
drawn against Andrew Kirkaldy in the first round, and 
his brother Hugh was one of the next pair, so it seemed 
that the two Kirkaldys would meet in the second round. 
Andrew assumed that that would happen, as he had every 
right to do, and he was heard to remark that it was rather 
hard luck that the brothers should be set against each other 
in this manner so early in the competition. The night 
before the match-play part of the business commenced, I 
was walking down one of the streets of Portrush when I 
encountered Andrew himself, and in his own blunt but good- 
humoured way he remarked, " Young laddie, d'ye think y're 



14 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

gaun to tak the money awa' with ye? Ye've no chance, 
ye ken." I said nothing in reply, because I felt that he 
spoke the truth. Next day a heavy gale was blowing, and 
I started very cautiously. The first hole was on the side of 
a hill, and when my ball lay a yard from the flag and I had 
the next stroke for the hole, it was trembling in the wind and 
threatening every moment to start rolling. So I waited for 
it to steady itself, and my waiting exasperated Andrew 
to such an extent that at length he exclaimed, " Man, d'ye 
ken I'm cauld? Are ye gaun to keep me waiting here a' 
nicht ? " Then I took the putt and missed it, so the hole 
was halved. However, I set about my opponent after that 
and had begun to enjoy the game immensely by the time we 
reached the turn. At this point two of the holes ran parallel 
to each other, and as we were playing one of them we passed 
Hugh and his partner going up to the other. " Man, 
Andrew, hoo's the game ? " called out brother Hugh. " Man 
alive, I'm five doon ! " Andrew replied in tones of distress. 
" Ma conscience ! " muttered Hugh as he passed along. 
Andrew was more than five down at the finish of that game, 
and in the second round I had the satisfaction of removing 
the remaining member of the Kirkaldy family from the 
competition, while in the semi-final I beat an old Open 
Champion, D. Brown. But in the final. Herd defeated me 
on the last green, and so I had to be content with the prize 
given for runner-up. Shortly afterwards I won another prize 
in a tournament at Ilkley, this time accounting for Herd as 
well as my brother Tom and many other well-known players. 
Tom was professional at Ilkley, and the course there was 
a very difficult nine holes. 

I did better in the competition for the Open Champion- 
ship in the following year when the meeting was held at 
Sandwich, playing a particularly good game on the seconci 
day, when my 80 and 81 were one of the two lowest com- 
bined returns. At the finish I was fifth, and felt very pleased 
to occupy the position, for the excellence of the golf that I 



SOME REMINISCENCES 15 

witnessed was a surprise to me. From Sandwich the pro- 
fessionals went on to Deal, where a tournament was held, in 
which I managed to secure second place. It was Herd who 
beat me once again. At St. Andrews in the 1895 Com- 
petition, I returned the lowest score in the first round, but 
could only tie for the ninth place at the finish. My old 
friend, J. H. Taylor, who made his first essay to capture the 
blue ribbon of golf at Prestwick at the same time that I did, 
was the winner at both this and the previous Championship 
meeting. A few months later I left Bury for Ganton ; Tom, 
who had been over there with some Ilkley players at the 
Yorkshire meeting, having heard that they were in need of 
a new professional, and written to me at once with advice 
to apply. Between leaving Bury and going to Ganton I had 
three weeks of good golf at Pau, in the south of France, the 
great and unexpected honour being paid me of an invitation 
to form one of a small party of professionals for whom a 
series of matches and competitions had been arranged there. 
Taylor, Herd, Archie Simpson, Willie Auchterlonie, and 
Lloyd, the local professional, were the others. Professional 
golfers when they are out together usually manage to have 
a pretty good time, and this occasion was no exception. 
Knowing a little French, I was once appointed cashier and 
paymaster for the party, but I did not know enough of the 
language to feel quite at home when large figures were the 
subject of discussion, and I remember that the result was an 
awkward incident at Bordeaux on the return journey. We 
were called upon to pay excess fare for the luxury of travel- 
ling in the express, and, failing to understand the ticket 
collector, I was filling his hand with francs, one by one, 
waiting for him to tell me when he was in possession of the 
required amount. But he needed more and more, and the 
situation was becoming embarrassing, when the guard whistled 
and the train moved off. If it had not been for that inter- 
vention we might still have been paying him excess fare. I 
went to Ganton immediately on my return, and in the spring 



16 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

of that year, 1896, a match between Taylor and myself was 
arranged on my new course, when I had the satisfaction 
of winning. 

I was looking forward very keenly to the Open 
Championship that year. It was at Muirfield, and it 
took place only four or five weeks after this encouraging 
victory over Taylor. In the meantime I had been a little 
off my game, and when I teed my first ball at Muirfield it 
seemed to me that I was as likely to make a bad drive as a 
good one, and I was equally uncertain with all the other 
clubs in my bag. But as it happened I was fortunate 
enough to be playing well during the competition, and 
was close up at the end of the first day, with Taylor in 
the next place above me. The next day I was again 
playing well, and the result was exciting. Taylor was 
doing his rounds only a few holes in front of me, and late in 
the contest it became apparent that the issue would be left 
between us. I did not know exactly what I had to do to 
win until about four holes from the finish, when someone, 
who had seen Taylor putt out at the last green, came up to 
me and told me what number of strokes was still left to me 
to play if I were to tie with him. When I came to the last 
hole I had set me what I think was the most anxious problem 
that has ever come my way since I first took up golf. I had 
five strokes left to play in order to tie with Taylor and give 
me the right to play off with him for the Championship, and 
four left with which to win it outright. It is a fairly long 
hole — a drive and a good brassy, with a very nasty bunker 
guarding the green. Thus, while it was an easy 5, it was 
a difficult 4, and the bold golfer who made his bid for the 
low figure might possibly be punished with a 6. My drive 
was good, and then I had to make my choice between the 
bold game and the sure one. A Championship hung upon 
the decision. The prospect of being the winner in less than 
five minutes was tempting. The brassy would give me the 
Championship or nothing. The iron would admit me to the 



SOME REMINISCENCES 17 

privilege of playing off with Taylor another day. I hesitated. 
I think I would have taken the iron in any case ; but just 
when I was longing for an inspiration, my eye wandered 
among the spectators some sixty or seventy yards in front 
of me, and I caught sight of my friend James Kay of Seaton 
Carew making frantic efforts to attract my attention, and 
pointing with his hand to the ground on the near side of the 
bunker as a hint to play short. That settled it. I played 
short, got my 5, and tied with Taylor with a total score 
of 316. 

The play-off was full of interest and excitement. Taylor 
and I were granted permission to take part in a tournament 
at North Berwick before we settled the question between us. 
When at length we teed up again at Muirfield, I felt as 
though I were fit to play for anything, and started in a way 
that justified my confidence, for I picked up a useful lead of 
five strokes in the first half-dozen holes. After that Taylor 
settled down to most brilliant golf, and brought my lead 
down to a single stroke ; but at the end of the first round 
I was two to the good. To my exasperation, this lead dis- 
appeared with the very first stroke that I made after lunch. 
There is a wood running along the left-hand side of the line 
of the first hole on this course. With my cleek shot from 
the tee I pulled the ball into this dismal place, and by the 
rule in force at the time I lost two strokes and played again 
from the tee, Taylor holing out in 3 to my 5. However, at 
this crisis I came out again and won a stroke at each of the 
next three holes, and only lost one of them from that point 
to the seventeenth. Two strokes to the good and two holes 
to go — that at least seemed good for the Championship. 
On the seventeenth green, my brother Tom, who was carrying 
my clubs for me, took a lot of trouble to point out the line 
of a putt the whole length of the green, but something 
prompted me to take an entirely different course, and I 
holed the putt, gaining another stroke. ' There we were, 
Taylor and I, at that last hole again, but this time we were 
2 



18 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

together, and I had a big advantage over my good friend on 
this occasion. There was more mental golf to be played, 
and though Taylor's ordeal was the more trying, neither of 
us had any difficulty in coming to a decision. My course 
was clear. With a lead of three strokes I had to play for a 
5, as on the previous occasion, because it was certain to give 
me the Championship. Taylor's only chance was to blaze 
away with both his driver and his brassy, and trust to getting 
his second shot so well placed on the green as to secure a 3, 
which, in the event of my dropping a stroke through an 
accident in the bunker or elsewhere and taking 6, would 
enable him to tie. I obtained my 5 without difficulty, but 
Taylor's gallant bid for 3 met with an unhappy fate, for his 
second shot was trapped in the bunker, and it took him 6 to 
hole out. And so with a score of 157 to Taylor's 161, 1 was 
Open Champion at last, and for the first time in my life I 
felt some emotion as a golfer. I was too dazed to speak, 
and it seemed as if my feet had taken root on the eighteenth 
green, for I don't think I moved for several minutes. 

There is a little tale I want to tell about that Champion- 
ship, illustrating the old saying that golf is a very funny 
game, and giving some point to a recommendation that I 
shall have to make later on. Never in my life have I putted 
better than I did in those two rounds. If, when I had a 
putt the whole length of the green, I did not actually rattle 
it into the tin, I laid it stone dead on the lip of the hole; on 
no green did I take more than two putts. Yet in the various 
rounds I had played on several days before my putting had 
been very indifferent. How came this remarkable change ? 
It seems to me that it was entirely due to a chance visit that 
I paid to Ben Sayers's shop when I was at North Berwick in 
the interval between tieing with Taylor and playing the 
deciding rounds. I told the clubmaker who was in charge 
that I was off my putting, and wanted a new putter. Hitherto 
I had been playing with one of the bent-necked variety. 
While I was looking about the shop my eye was attracted 



SOME REMINISCENCES 19 

by an old cleek that lay in a corner — a light and neglected 
club, for which nobody seemed to have any use. The strange 
idea occurred to me that this would make a grand putter, 
and so I told the man to take out the old shaft and put a 
new and shorter one in, and when this process had been 
completed I determined to experiment with it in the play- 
off with Taylor. I fancied this new discovery of mine and 
had confidence in it, and that was why I got all those long 
putts down and achieved the golfer's greatest ambition. But 
though I keep it still and treasure it, I have never played 
with that putter since. It has done its duty. 

I must tell just one other story concerning this Muirfield 
Championship. Among the favourites at the beginning of 
operations were Ben Sayers and Andrew Kirkaldy, and a 
victory on the part of either of them would have been most 
popular in the North, as it would have settled the cup on 
the other side of the Tweed. Ben was rather inclined to 
think his own prospects were good. Someone asked him 
the day before the meeting who was the most likely Champion. 
" Jist gie me a wun' an' I'll show ye wha'll be the Champion," 
he replied, and he had some reason for the implied confidence 
in himself, for he knew Muirfield very well, and no one had 
better knowledge of how to play the strokes properly there 
when there was a gale blowing over the course, and pulling 
and slicing were constantly required. But neither Ben nor 
Andrew was as successful as was wished, and not unnaturally 
they thought somewhat less of Muirfield than they had done 
before. Therefore it was not fair to ask Kirkaldy, after the 
competition had been completed, what he really considered 
to be the merits of the course. I was standing near him 
when a player came up and bluntly asked, " What d'ye think 
o' Muirfield now, Andrew?" Andrew's lip curled as he 
replied, " No for gowff ava'. Just an auld watter meedie, 
I'm gled I'm gaun hame." But the inquirer must needs 
ejaculate, " Hooch ay, she would be ferry coot whateffer if 
you had peen in Harry Pardon's shoes." 



20 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

There was an exciting finish also to the 1 898 Champion- 
ship, which was held at Prestwick. The final struggle was 
left to Willie Park and myself, and at the end of the third 
round, when Willie was three strokes to the good, it seemed 
a very likely victory for him. In the last round I was play- 
ing a hole in front of him, and we were watching each other 
as cats watch mice the whole way round the links. I made 
a reckoning when we reached the turn that I had wiped out 
the three strokes deficit, and could now discuss the remainder 
of the game with Park without any sense of inferiority. I 
finished very steadily, and when Park stood on the last tee 
just as I had holed out, he was left to get a 3 at this 
eighteenth hole to tie. His drive was a beauty, and plop 
came the ball down to the corner of the green, making the 3 
seem a certainty. An immense crowd pressed round the 
green to see these fateful putts, and in the excitement of the 
moment, I, the next most concerned man to Park himself, 
was elbowed out. I just saw his long putt roll up to within 
about a yard of the hole, which was much too dead for my 
liking. Then, while Park proceeded to carry out his ideas 
of accomplishing a certainty, I stood at the edge of the 
crowd, seeing nothing and feeling the most nervous and 
miserable man alive. Never while playing have I felt so 
uncomfortable as during those two or three minutes. After 
what seemed an eternity there rose from all round the ring 
one long disappointed " O-o-o-h ! " I didn't stop to look at 
the ball, which was still outside the hole. I knew that I 
had won the Championship again, and so I hastened light- 
heartedly away. I must admit that Park was playing an 
exceedingly fine game at that time, and it was only the fact 
that I was probably playing as well as ever I did in my life 
that enabled me to get the better of him. The day after 
winning the Championship I gained the first prize in a 
tournament at the adjoining course of St. Nicholas, and 
thereafter I frequently took part in competitions, winning 
much more often than not. 



SOME REMINISCENCES 21 

But the most important event, and the biggest match 1 
ever had with anyone, was my engagement with Willie Park, 
who, not altogether satisfied at having missed the Champion- 
ship by a putt, challenged me to play him home and home 
matches, thirty-six holes each time, for £ioo 3. side. There 
was some difficulty in arranging final details, but eventually 
we agreed to play at North Berwick and Ganton, North 
Berwick first. I have never seen such a golfing crowd as 
there was at North Berwick the day we played there. All 
golfing Scotland seemed to be in attendance, and goodness 
knows how many people would have been watching the play 
if it had not happened that the lukewarm golfers went instead 
to Edinburgh to see the Prince of Wales, who was visit- 
ing the capital that day. As it was, there were fully seven 
thousand people on the links, and yet this huge crowd — 
surely one of the very biggest that have ever watched a golf 
match — was perfectly managed, and never in the least inter- 
fered with a single stroke made by either Park or myself. 
The arrangements, indeed, were admirable. In order to 
keep the crowd informed of the state of the game at each 
hole, two flags were made, one being white with a red " P " 
on it, and the other red with a " V " worked on in white. 
When Park won a hole the flag with his initial was hoisted, 
and the "V" was sent up when I won a hole, both flags 
being waved when it was a half. At each teeing ground a 
rope three hundred yards long was stretched, and fourteen 
constables and a like number of honorary officials took 
control of it. In order to prevent any inconvenience at the 
dyke on the course, a boarding, forty feet wide and fifty yards 
out of the line from the tee to the hole, was erected, so that 
the crowd could walk right over, Mr. C. C. Broadwood, the 
Ganton captain, acted as my referee, and Lieutenant " Freddy" 
Tait served in the same capacity on behalf of Park. One 
of the most laborious tasks was that undertaken by the 
two Messrs. Hunter, who acted as forecaddies, and did their 
work splendidly. In two practice rounds that I played 



22 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

before the great encounter opened I did y6 each time, and 
I felt very fit when we teed up on the eventful morning. 
And I played very steadily, too, though my putting was 
sometimes a little erratic, and Park is one of the greatest 
putters who have ever lived. The early part of the game 
was very extraordinary in that the first ten holes were 
halved in 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 4, 4. Then Park drew first 
blood, but in the end I finished two up on the day's play. 
When Park came to Ganton three weeks later, I beat him on 
the two matches by 1 1 up with 10 to play. Naturally he 
was disappointed, but he was very sportsmanlike. He 
was acknowledged to be the greatest match-player of his 
time. I do not care for myself to lay any more stress on the 
importance of this match, or of the value of my own achieve- 
ment; but those who have taken up golf quite lately can 
have no conception of the stir that it caused. It was the 
event of my lifetime. 

The remembrance of this encounter brings forward the 
question of big money matches generally, which several 
people have declared they would like to see renewed. Fifty 
years ago they were common enough, and there are great 
stories told of foursomes between Allan Robertson and Tom 
Morris on the one side and the brothers Dunn on the other 
for a stake of ;£^400, and so on. The sightseers of golf ask 
why there are no such matches now. I think it is because 
golf professionals have to work too hard for the money they 
earn, and they do not care for the idea of throwing it away 
again on a single match. They do not receive large " bene- 
fits " or gate money, as do professionals in other branches of 
sport. So they deem it best to be careful of their savings. 
Besides, such matches tend to create bad feeling among the 
players, and we professionals are such a happy family that 
we distrust any scheme with such a tendency. Moreover, 
golf at the present time is a delightfully pure game, so far 
as gambling is concerned — purer than most others — and such 
matches would very likely encourage the gambling idea. 



SOME REMINISCENCES 23 

That would be a misfortune. I contend that after all, for 
the best and fairest and most interesting trial of strength 
there is nothing like a good tournament where each player 
has to test himself against all comers. Every man plays to 
win, the golf is generally good, and what more is wanted ? 

When I won the Championship again in the following 
year at Sandwich, my success was chiefly due to my brassy 
play, which was better than it ever was before or has been 
since. From my brassy strokes the ball was often enough 
laid dead near the hole; certainly my second shots were 
always the winning shots. The game seemed very easy to 
me then, and I gained the Championship for the third time 
with less difficulty than on either of the two previous occa- 
sions. In 1900 I made a long tour in America, and won the 
American Championship. Concerning these events I desire 
to write at some length in a later chapter. The greatest 
success which I have ever achieved in face of difficulties 
was when I again became Open Champion at Prestwick 
in 1903. For some time beforehand I had been feeling ex- 
ceedingly unwell, and, as it appeared shortly afterwards, there 
was serious trouble brewing. During the play for the 
Championship I was not at all myself, and while I was 
making the last round I was repeatedly so faint that I 
thought it would be impossible for me to finish. However, 
when I holed my last putt I knew that I had won. My 
brother Tom was runner-up, six strokes behind, and, glad 
as I was of the distinction of having equalled the record of 
the two Morrises in having won the Championship four times, 
I could have wished, and did wish, that Tom had been the 
victor. In all the circumstances I was very much surprised 
that I did so well. The last day's work was an enormous 
strain, yet on the following day I played in a tournament 
at Irvine, won the first prize, and broke the record of the 
course. It is wonderful what golf can be played when one's 
mind is given to the task, whatever the adverse factors in 
the case may be. 



24 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

However, these are the events of recent golfing history, 
and I have no desire to inflict upon my readers a narrative 
of any more of them. As nearly as I can reckon, I have 
up to date won the first prize in forty-eight first-class tourna- 
ments, and by being four times British Open Champion and 
once American have still that record to my credit. And I 
hope to play many of my best games in the future, for it 
takes longer to kill the golf in a man than it does to 
breed iL 



CHAPTER III 
THE WAY TO GOLF 

The mistakes of the beginner — Too eager to play a round — Despair that fol- 
lows — A settling down to mediocrity — All men may excel — The sorrows of 
a foozler — My advice — Three months' practice to begin with — The makings 
of a player — Good golf is best — How Mr. Balfour learned the game — A 
wise example — Go to the professional — The importance of beginning well — 
Practise with each club separately — Driver, brassy, cleek, iron, mashie, 
and putter — Into the hole at last — Master of a bag of clubs — The first 
match — How long drives are made — Why few good players are coming on — 
Golf is learned too casually. 

THERE are different ways of learning to play the great 
game of golf, each of which enjoys its share of 
patronage. Here as elsewhere, there are, of course, the two 
broad divisions into which the methods of doing all things 
are in the first instance classed — the right way and the 
wrong way — and, generally speaking, the wrong way has 
proved the more popular and is accountable for much of 
the very bad golf that one sees almost every day upon the 
links. There are two mistakes to which the beginner is 
much addicted, and to them is due the unhappy circumstance 
that in so many cases he never gets his club handicap down 
to single figures. Before he has ever played golf in his 
life, but at that interesting period when he has made up his 
mind to do so, and has bought his first set of clubs, he is 
still inclined to make the same error that is made by so 
many people who know nothing of the game, and loftily 
remark that they do not want to know anything — that it is 
too absurdly simple to demand serious thought or attention, 
and can surely need no special pains in learning to play. Is 



26 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

not the ball quite still on the tee before you, and all that is 
necessary being to hit it, surely the rest is but a question of 
strength and accuracy of aim ? Well, we need not waste 
time in discussing the opinions of the scoffers outside, or in 
submitting that there never was a game less easy to learn 
than golf. But the man who has been converted to golf 
most frequently has a vestige of this superstition of his 
heathen days lingering with him, and thus at the outset he is 
not inclined to waste any time, as he would say, in tuition, 
particularly as it happens that these new converts when quite 
fresh are invariably most delightfully enthusiastic. They 
have promised themselves a new sensation, and they are 
eager to get on to the links and see how much further than the 
two hundred yards that they have heard about they can drive 
at the first attempt or two. Then comes the inevitable dis- 
appointment, the despair, the inclination to give it up, and 
finally the utter abject despondency which represents the 
most miserable state on earth of the golfer, in which he must 
be closely watched lest he should commit murder upon the 
beautiful set of clubs of which at the beginning he was so 
proud, and which he spent his evenings in brightening to the 
degree that they resembled the family plate. Then after this 
passage through purgatory come the first gleams of hope, 
when two holes in succession have been done in only one 
over bogey, and a 24 handicap man has actually been beaten 
by 3 up and 2 to play — a conquest which, if it is the first 
one, is rarely forgotten in the golfer's lifetime. After that 
there is a steady settling down to mediocrity. There is 
afterwards only an occasional fit of despair, the game is for 
the most part thoroughly enjoyed, there are times when, 
after a round in which driving and putting have been rather 
better than usual, the golfer encourages himself over his cup 
of tea with the fancy that after all he may some day win a 
medal and become a senior ; but in the main the conviction 
forces itself upon him that it is impossible that he can ever 
become a really fine player. He argues that this is not at 



THE WAY TO GOLF 27 

all his own fault He points out to himself that circumstances 
are too strong for him. He considers that he is not very- 
young — at least not so young as many of the experts of his 
club who have been golfing ever since they were boys. His 
limbs have not that suppleness which makes the scratch 
player. His eye is not so keen as theirs. Besides, he is a 
business man who has to give up so much of his time to the 
earning of his daily bread that it is impossible he should ever 
devote himself to the game with that single-mindedness 
which alone can ensure proficiency. He must take himself 
as he finds himself, and be satisfied with his i8 handicap. 
These are the somewhat pathetic excuses that he makes in 
this mood of resignation. Of course he is wrong — wrong 
from the beginning to the end — but there is little satisfaction 
in that for the earnest lover of the game who would see all 
men excel, and who knows only too well that this failure is 
but a specimen of hundreds of his kind — good golfing lives 
thrown away, so to speak. If a man is not a cripple, if he 
suffers from no physical defect, there is no reason why he 
should not learn to play a good game of golf if he goes 
about it in the right way. There is indeed a one-armed 
golfer who plays a very fair game, and one may admit all 
these things without in any way suggesting that golf is 
not a game for the muscles and the nerves and all the best 
physical qualities of a well-grown man. No great amount 
of brute force is necessary, and fleetness of foot, which men 
lose as they grow old, is never wanted ; but still golf is a 
game for manly men, and when they take it up they should 
strive to play it as it deserves to be played. 

Now I know what severe temptation there will be to all 
beginners to disregard the advice that I am about to offer 
them ; but before proceeding any further I will invite them 
to take the opinion of any old golfer who, chiefly through 
a careless beginning (he knows that this is the cause), has 
missed his way in the golfer's life, and is still plodding away 
as near the limit handicap as he was at the beginning. The 



28 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

beginner may perhaps be disposed to rely more upon the 
statement of this man of experience and disappointment 
than on that of the professional, who is too often suspected 
of having his own ends in view whenever he gives advice. 
Let the simple question be put to him whether, if he could 
be given the chance of doing it all over again from the be- 
ginning, he would not sacrifice the first three or six months 
of play to diligent study of the principles of the game, and 
the obtaining of some sort of mastery over each individual 
shot under the careful guidance of a skilled tutor, not 
attempting during this time a single complete round with 
all his clubs in action, and refusing all temptations to play 
a single match — whether he would not undergo this slow 
and perhaps somewhat tedious period of learning if he could 
be almost certain of being able at the end of it to play a 
really good game of golf, and now at this later period of his 
career to have a handicap much nearer the scratch mark than 
his existing one is to the border-line between the senior and 
the junior? I am confident that in the great majority of 
cases, looking back on his misspent golfing youth, he would 
answer that he would cheerfully do all this learning if he 
could begin again at the beginning. Now, of course, it is 
too late, for what is once., learned can only with extreme 
difficulty be unlearned, and it is almost impossible to reform 
the bad style and the bad habits which have taken root and 
been cultivated in the course of many years ; and if it were 
possible it would be far more difficult than it would have 
been to learn the game properly at the beginning. 

My earnest advice to the beginner is to undergo this 
slow process of tuition for nothing less than three months, 
and preferably more. It is a very long time, I know, 
and it may seem painfully tedious work, simply knocking 
a ball backwards and forwards for all those months ; but 
if he does not accept my suggestion he will have harder 
things to try his patience during many years afterwards, 
while, if he takes my advice, he may be down very near 



THE WAY TO GOLF 29 

to scratch at the end of his first year, and he will be very 
thankful that he spent the period of probation as he did. 
He will constantly be giving a half to players who have 
been playing for more years than he has months, and he 
will be holding his own in the very best golfing company. 
He will be getting the finest delight out of the game that it 
is possible to get. It is said that the long handicap man 
gets as much pleasure out of the game as the short handicap 
man. As the former has never been a short handicap man 
he is evidently not qualified to judge. The scratch man, 
who has been through it all, would never change his scratch 
play for that of his old long-handicap days — at least I have 
never yet met the scratch man who would. No doubt the 
noble army of foozlers derive an immense amount of enjoy- 
ment from the practice of their game, and it is my earnest 
prayer that they may long continue to do so. It is one 
of the glorious advantages of golf that all, the skilled and 
the unskilled, can revel in its fascinations and mysteries; 
but there is no golfing delight so splendid as that which 
is obtained from playing the perfect game, or one which 
nearly approaches it. The next best thing to it is playing 
what one knows to be an improving game, however bad, 
and the golfer whose play has been incorrectly established 
has not often even the knowledge that his game is improving. 
He declares more often than not that it gets worse, and one 
is frequently inclined to believe him. 

Now the middle-aged man may say that he is too old to 
go in for this sort of thing, that all he wants is a little fresh 
air and exercise, and as much enjoyment as he can get 
out of playing the game in just the same sort of way that 
the "other old crocks" do. He would rather play well, 
of course, if it were not too late to begin ; but it is too late, 
and there is an end of it. That is the way in which he 
puts it. So large a proportion of our new converts to golf 
belong to this middle-aged class, that it is worth while giving 
a few special words of advice to them. Mr. Forty and Mr, 



30 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

Forty-Five, you are not a day too old, and I might even 
make scratch men of you, if I were to take you in hand 
and you did all the things I told you to do and for as long 
as I told you. Given fair circumstances, there is no reason 
why any man should despair of becoming either a scratch 
player or one who is somewhere very near it, and it is as 
easy to learn to play well as it is to learn to play badly. 

So I advise every golfer to get hold of the game stroke 
by stroke, and never be too ambitious at the commencement. 
I have heard it stated on very good authority that when 
Mr. Balfour first began to play he submitted himself to very 
much the same process of tuition as that which I am about 
to advise, and that under the guidance of Tom Dunn he 
actually spent a miserable fortnight in bunkers only, 
learning how to get out of them from every possible posi- 
tion. The right honourable gentleman must have saved 
hundreds of strokes since then as the result of that splendid 
experience, trying as it must have been. He is in these 
days a very good and steady player, and he might be still 
better if parliamentary cares did not weigh so heavily upon 
him. I may humbly suggest that the way in which he 
began to play golf was characteristic of his wisdom. 

Therefore, when the golfer has become possessed of his 
first set of clubs, let him proceed to the shop of a good 
professional player — presumably it will be the shop where 
he bought his clubs — and let him place himself unreservedly 
in the hands of this expert in the game. Most professionals 
are good players and good teachers, and the golfer cannot go 
far wrong in this matter if he allows himself to be guided 
by his own instincts. I say that he should place himself 
unreservedly in this man's hands ; but in case it should be 
necessary I would make one exception to this stipulation. 
If he thinks well of my advice and desires to do the thing 
with the utmost thoroughness from the beginning, he may 
request that for the first lesson or two no ball may be 
put upon the ground at which to practise swings. The 



THE WAY TO GOLF 31 

professional is sure to agree that this is the best way, 
though he encounters so few beginners who are prepared 
to make all the sacrifices that I have suggested, that he 
might have hesitated in recommending this course of pro- 
cedure himself. 

A golfer's swing is often made for good or ill in the first 
week of his experience. His first two days of practice may 
be of the greatest importance in fashioning his style. If, 
when he takes his first lesson or two and makes his first 
few swings, he has a ball on the ground before him which he 
is trying to hit, all his thoughts will be concentrated on 
what appears to him to be the necessity of hitting it — hitting 
it at any cost. No matter what he has been told about the 
way to swing, he will forget it all in this moment of anxiety, 
and swing anyhow. In such circumstances a really natural 
and proper swing is rarely accomplished, and, before the 
golfer is aware of the frightful injustice he has done himself, 
his future prospects will probably have been damaged. But 
if he has no ball before him he will surely learn to swing 
his club in exactly the way in which it ought to be swung. 
His whole mind will be concentrated upon getting every detail 
of the action properly regulated and fixed according to 
the advice of his tutor, and by the time he has had two 
lessons in this way he will have got so thoroughly into 
the natural swing, that when he comes to have a ball teed 
up in front of him he will unconsciously swing at it in 
the same manner as he did when it was absent, or nearly 
so. The natural swing, or some of its best features, will prob- 
ably be there, although very likely they will be considerably 
distorted. 

At the same time the young golfer must not imagine 
because he has mastered the proper swing when there is 
no ball before him, that he has overcome any considerable 
portion of the difficulties of golf, for even some of the very 
best players find that they can swing very much better with- 
out a ball than with one. However, he may now taste the 



32 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

sweet pleasure of driving a ball from the tee, or of doing his 
best with that object in view. His initial attempts may not 
be brilliant; it is more than likely that they will be sadly 
disappointing. He may take comfort from the fact that 
in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred they are so. But 
by and by a certain confidence will come, he will cease, 
under the wise advice of his tutor, to be so desperately 
anxious to hit the ball anyhow so long as he hits it, and 
then in due course the correctness of swing which he was 
taught in his first two days will assert itself, and the good 
clean-hit drives will come. There will be duffings and 
toppings and slicings, but one day there will be a long 
straight drive right away down the course, and the tyro 
will be told that the professional himself could not have 
done it better. This is one of the most pleasurable moments 
in life. 

His system of practice thereafter should be upon the 
following lines. He should continue to practise diligently 
with his driver until he gets these good, long balls nearly 
every time, sternly resisting the temptation even to so 
much as look at any of the other nice new clubs that he 
has got in his bag, and whose mysteries he is exceedingly 
curious to investigate. It may take him a week or a 
fortnight or a month to master the driver ; but he should 
do it before he gives a thought to any other club. When 
he can use the driver with confidence, he may take out 
his new brassy and go through the same process with that, 
until he feels that on a majority of occasions, from a fairly 
decent lie, he could depend upon making a respectable 
brassy shot. He will find unsuspected difficulties in the 
brassy, and in doing his best to overcome them he will 
probably lose to some extent the facility for driving which 
he had acquired. Therefore, when he has become a player 
with his brassy, he should devote a short space of time 
to getting back on to his drive. It will not take him 
long, and then he should take out both the clubs he has been 



THE WAY TO GOLF 33 

practising with and hammer away at the two of them 
together, until after a large amount of extra practice he finds 
that he is fairly reliable in driving a ball from the tee to 
begin with, and putting in a creditable second shot with his 
brassy from the lie upon which he found his ball. 

During this second stage of learning he must deny him- 
self the pleasure of trying his iron clubs just as rigorously as 
he restrained himself from the brassy when he was practising 
drives only ; but when the driver and the brassy are doing 
well, he may go forward with the cleek. He will not find 
this learning such dull work after all. There will be some- 
thing new in store for him every week, and each new club 
as it is taken out of the bag will afford an entirely new set 
of experiences. After the driver and the brassy it will 
be like a new game when he comes to try cleek shots, and in 
the same way he will persevere with the cleek until it is 
evident that he really knows how to use it. The driver, 
the brassy, and the cleek may then be practised with on the 
same occasion, and if he has made the best use of his time 
and is an apt pupil, he will find himself now and then, 
with these three shots taken in turn, getting beyond the 
green at some of the longest holes. Next it will be the 
turn of the iron, and so in due season he will be able to 
practise with the driver, the brassy, the cleek, and the iron. 
The mashie will follow, and then the five of them together, 
and at last he may have an afternoon on the green trying 
his skill with a putter, and listening for the first time to the 
music of the ball — no such music as this to the golfer's ear, 
though it consists of but a single note — as it drops into the 
tin and is holed out at last. 

He is at work now with all the clubs that are usually 
necessary to play a hole ; but at the risk of seeming over 
careful I would warn him once more against going along 
too fast, and thinking that even at this stage he is able to 
embark on match play with all the days of studentship 
left behind. When he takes out his full set of clubs, he 
3 



84i THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

will find, in using them as occasion demands, that he is 
strangely erratic all of a sudden with one or two of them. 
Let him have half an hour's practice once more alone with 
these troublesome fellows until the old order of things has 
been restored. Let him treat all other offenders in the same 
manner. He must be determined that there shall not be 
a club in his bag that shall be allowed to play these tricks 
with him. Let one day's hard labour be the invariable 
penalty, until at last they are all obedient in his hands, and 
the joyful day comes when he feels that he can pick any 
tool out of his golfing bag and use it skilfully and well, and 
that after examining a ball in any lie, at any distance from 
the hole, or with any hazard before him, he knows exactly how 
it should be played, and feels that he has a very reasonable 
chance of playing it in that way and achieving the success 
that such a shot deserves. Such a stroke will not be brought 
off correctly every time; the golfer has not yet been born 
who always does the right thing in the right way. But the 
more one practises the more frequently will he succeed. 
Following Mr. Balfour's good example, the beginner may do 
worse than spend a few days trying the most difficult strokes 
he can discover on his links, for in actual play he will 
find himself in these difficult places often enough to begin 
with, and a little special study of such shots at the outset 
will prove a very valuable investment of time. The ball 
should be thrown down carelessly at different places, and 
should be played from the spot at which it settles, however 
uninviting that spot may be. 

When he has secured a fair command over all his clubs, 
from the driver to the niblick, the golf student may play a 
round of the links; but he should do so only under the 
watchful eye of the professional, for he will find that in thus 
marching on from hole to hole, and perhaps getting a little 
excited now and then when he plays a hole more than usually 
well, it is only too easy to forget all the good methods in 
which he has been so carefully trained, and all the wise 



THE WAY TO GOLF 85 

maxims he knows so well by heart that he could almost 
utter them in his sleep. Let him play a few rounds in this 
way, and in between them devote himself as assiduously as 
ever to practise with individual clubs, before he thinks of 
playing his first match. He must settle his game on a 
secure foundation before he measures his strength against an 
opponent, for unless it is thus safeguarded it is all too likely 
that it will crumble to ruins when the enemy is going 
strongly, and the novice feels, with a sense of dismay, that 
he is not by any means doing himself justice. Of course I 
am not suggesting that he should wait until he has ad- 
vanced far towards perfection before he engages in his first 
match. When he has thoroughly grasped the principles and 
practice of the game, there is nothing like match play for 
proving his quality, but he should not be in haste thus to 
indulge himself Any time from three to six months from 
the day when he first took a club in hand will be quite soon 
enough, and if he has been a careful student, and is in his 
first match not overcome with nerves, he should render a 
good account of himself and bring astonishment to the mind 
of his adversary when the latter is told that this is the first 
match of a lifetime. 

During the preparatory period the golfer will be wise to 
limit his practices to three or four days a week. More than 
this will only tire him and will not be good for his game. I 
have only now to warn him against a constant attempt, 
natural but very harmful, to drive a much longer ball every 
time than was driven at the previous stroke. He must bring 
himself to understand that length comes only with experi- 
ence, and that it is due to the swing becoming gradually 
more natural and more certain. He may see players on the 
links driving thirty or forty yards further than he has ever 
driven, and, wondering why, he is seized with a determina- 
tion to hit harder, and then the old, old story of the foozled 
drive is told again. He forgets that these players are more 
experienced than he is, that their swing is more natural to 



36 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

them, and that they are more certain of it. In these circum- 
stances the extra power which they put into their stroke is 
natural also. To give him an exact idea of what it is that 
he ought to be well satisfied with, I may say that the learner 
who finds that he is putting just two or three yards on to 
his drive every second week, may cease to worry about the 
future, for as surely as anything he will be a long driver in 
good time. 

In the course of this volume there are several chapters 
describing the way in which the various strokes should be 
played, but I am no believer in learning golf from books 
alone. I do not think it likely that the professional teacher 
who is giving the pupil lessons will disagree with any of the 
chief points of the methods that I explain, and, read in con- 
junction with his frequent lessons at the beginning of his 
golfing career, and later on studied perhaps a little more 
closely and critically, I have hope that they will prove bene- 
ficial. At all events, as I have already suggested, in the 
following pages I teach the system which has won Champion- 
ships for me, and I teach that system only. 

It is perhaps too much to hope, after all, that any very 
large proportion of my readers will make up their minds to 
the self-sacrificing thoroughness which I have advocated, and 
undertake a careful preparation of from three to six months' 
duration before really attempting to play golf. If they all 
did so we should have some fine new players. It is because 
they do not learn to play in this way that so few good 
players are coming to the fore in these days. One is some- 
times inclined to think that no new golfer of the first class 
has come forward during the last few years. In my opinion 
it is all due to the fact that nowadays they learn their game 
too casually. 



CHAPTER IV 
THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 

Difficulties of choice — A long search for the best — Experiments with more than 
a hundred irons — Buy few clubs to begin with — Take the professional's 
advice — A preliminary set of six — Points of the driver — Scared wooden 
clubs are best — Disadvantages of the socket — Fancy faces — Short heads — 
Whip in the shaft — The question of weight — Match the brassy with the 
driver — Reserve clubs — Kinds of cleeks — Irons and mashies — The niblick — 
The putting problem — It is the man who putts and not the putter — Recent 
inventions — Short shafts for all clubs — Lengths and weights of those I use — 
Be careful of your clubs — Hints for preserving them. 

THE good golfer loves his clubs and takes a great and 
justifiable pride in them. He has many reasons for 
doing so. Golf clubs are not like most other implements 
that are used in sport. A man may go to a shop and pick 
out a cricket bat or a billiard cue with which he may be 
tolerably certain he will be able to play something approach- 
ing to his best game when he is in the mood for playing it. 
The acquaintance which is begun in the shop is complete a 
few days later. But a man may see a golf club which he 
strongly fancies and buy it, and yet find himself utterly 
incapable of using it to good advantage. He may purchase 
club after club, and still feel that there is something wanting 
in all of them, something which he cannot define but which 
he knows ought to exist if his own peculiar style of play is 
to be perfectly suited. Until he finds this club he is groping 
in the dark. One driver may be very much like another, 
and even to the practised eye two irons may be exactly 
similar ; but with one the golfer may do himself justice, and 
with the other court constant failure. Therefore, the acquisi- 



58 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

tlon of a set of clubs, each one of which enjoys the complete 
confidence of its owner, is not the task of a week or even a 
year. There are some golfers who do not accomplish it in 
many years, and happy are they when at last they have 
done so. Then they have a very sincere attachment to each 
one of these instruments, that have been selected with so 
much difficulty. It is not always possible to give reasons 
for their excellence, for the subtle qualities of the clubs are 
not visible to the naked eye. Their owners only know that 
at last they have found the clubs that are the best for them, 
and that they will not part with them for any money — that 
is, if they are golfers of the true breed. In these days I 
always play with the same set of irons. They are of differ- 
ent makes, and to the average golfer they appear quite 
ordinary irons and very much like others of their class. 
But they are the results of trials and tests of more than one 
hundred clubs. 

Therefore no golfer in his early days should run away 
with the idea that he is going to suit himself entirely with a 
set of clubs without much delay, and though his purse may 
be a small one, I feel obliged to suggest that money spent 
in the purchase of new clubs which he strongly fancies, 
during his first few years of play, is seldom wasted. Many 
of the new acquisitions may be condemned after a very 
short trial ; but occasionally it will happen that a veritable 
treasure is discovered in this haphazard manner. With all 
these possibilities in view, the beginner, knowing nothing of 
golf, and being as yet without a style to suit or any peculiar 
tastes that have to be gratified, should restrain himself from 
the desire to be fully equipped with a " complete outfit " at 
the very beginning of his career. Let him buy as few clubs 
as possible, knowing that it is quite likely that not one of 
those which he purchases at this stage will hold a place in 
his bag a year or two later. As he can have no ideas at all 
upon the subject, he should leave the entire selection of his 
first bag to some competent adviser, and he will not generally 



THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 39 

find such an adviser behind the counter at a general athletic 
outfitting establishment in the town or city, which too 
often is the direction in which he takes his steps when he 
has decided to play the game. In these stores the old and 
practised golfer may often pick up a good club at a trifling 
cost ; but the beginner would be more likely to furnish him- 
self with a set which would be poor in themselves and quite 
unsuited for his purpose. 

The proper place for him to go to is the professional's 
shop which is attached to the club of which he has become 
a member. Nearly all clubs have their own professionals, 
who are makers and sellers of clubs, and I know no pro- 
fessional who is not thoroughly conscientious in this part 
of his business. It pays him to give the completest satis- 
faction to his clients, and particularly to the members of his 
own club. This professional is also a first-class golfer, who 
knows all, or nearly all, that there is to be known about the 
game, and who in his time has had imposed upon him the 
difficult task of teaching hundreds of beginners their first 
steps in golf. Thus he knows better than any man the 
erratic tendencies of the golfing initiate and the best means 
of counteracting them. Experience has given him the 
faculty for sizing up the golfing points of the tyro almost at 
the first glance, and therefore he can supply him at the 
beginning with those clubs with which certainly he will 
have most chance of success. He will suit his height and 
his build and his reach, and he will take care that the clubs 
in the set which he makes up are in harmony with each 
other and will have that lie which will best suit the player 
who is to use them. And even though, when the beginner 
gathers knowledge of the game and finds out his own style 
— which neither he nor the professional can determine in 
advance — some of them may gradually become unsuitable to 
him, they are nevertheless likely to be in themselves good 
clubs. 

A beginner may at the outset limit himself to the pur- 



40 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

chase of six new clubs. He must have a driver, a brassy, a 
cleek, an iron, a mashie, and a putter. At an early oppor- 
tunity he may add a niblick to this small set, but there is 
no need to invest in it at the outset, and as this club is one 
which is least likely to require change, it is best that it 
should not be bought until the player has some ideas of his 
own as to what is wanted. By way of indicating what will 
be needful to make this set complete for the purposes of 
good golf, when the player has obtained a fairly complete 
experience, I may mention the instruments that I take out 
when playing an important match. I have two drivers, one 
brassy, a baffy or spoon, two cleeks (one shorter than the 
other), an iron, sometimes one mashie, sometimes two (one 
for running up and the other for pitch shots), a niblick, and 
sometimes two putters (one for long running-up putts and the 
other for holing out). This selection may be varied slightly 
according to the course on which the match is to be played 
and the state of the weather, but in general principles the 
constitution of the bag remains the same, and a player who is 
equipped with such a set ought to be able to play any hole 
in any way, and if he cannot do so it is his own skill that 
is lacking and not an extra club. We may now consider in 
order a few of the points of these clubs. I shall have occa- 
sion, when dealing with the method of play with each of them, 
to call attention to many points of detail which can only be 
properly explained when indicating particular objects which 
it is desired to achieve with them, so for the present I shall 
confine myself chiefly to general features. 

Take the driver to begin with, and the preliminary word 
of advice that I have to offer concerning the choice of this 
club is at variance with the custom of the present moment, 
though I am confident that before long the golfing world 
will again come round to my view of the matter — not my 
view only, but that of many of the leading amateur and 
professional players. One of the problems which agitate the 
mind of the golf-club maker deals with the best and most 



THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 41 

effectual method of attaching the head of the club to the shaft. 
For a very long period this was done by what we call scaring 
or splicing, the neck of the club having a long bevel which 
was spliced with the shaft and bound round for several inches 
with black twine. Latterly, however, a new kind of club 
has become the fashion with all but the oldest and most 
experienced players, and it is called the socket driver. The 
continuation of the neck of this club is shorter than in the 
case of the spliced driver, and instead of there being any 
splicing at all, a hole is bored vertically into the end of the 
neck and the shaft fitted exactly into it, glued up, and finally 
bound round for less than an inch. This club certainly 
looks neater than the old-fashioned sort, and the man who 
is governed only by appearances might very easily imagine 
that it is really more of one piece than the other, that the union 
of the shaft with the head has less effect upon the play of 
the club, and that therefore it is better. But experience 
proves that this is not the case. What we want at this all- 
important part of the driver is spring and life. Anything 
in the nature of a deadness at this junction of the head with 
the shaft, which would, as it were, cut off the one from the 
other, is fatal to a good driver. I contend that the socket 
brings about this deadness in a far greater degree than does 
the splice. The scared or old-fashioned drivers have far 
more spring in them than the new ones, and it is my ex- 
perience that I can constantly get a truer and a better ball 
with them. When the wood of the shaft and the wood of 
the neck are delicately tapered to suit each other, filed thin 
and carefully adjusted, wood to wood for several inches, and 
then glued and tightened up to each other with twine for 
several inches, there is no sharp join whatever but only such 
a gradual one as never makes itself felt in practice. More- 
over, these clubs are more serviceable, and will stand much 
more wear and tear than those which are made with sockets. 
Sometimes they give trouble when the glue loosens, but the 
socketed club is much easier to break. On club links gener- 



42 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

ally in these days you will probably see more socketed 
drivers and brassies (for these remarks apply to all wooden 
clubs) than those that are spliced ; but this is simply the 
result of a craze or fashion with which neat appearance has 
something to do; and if you desire to convince yourself 
that I am right, take note of the styles of the drivers used 
by the best players at the next first-class amateur or pro- 
fessional tournament that you witness. The men who are 
playing on these occasions are ripe with experience, and so 
long as they get the best results they do not care what their 
clubs look like. 

The head of the club should be made of persimmon or 
dogwood — both very hard and full of driving power. Usually 
the bare face of such a club is good enough for contact with 
any ball on any tee, but the time will come when the golfer, 
developing innumerable fads and fancies, will reach the con- 
clusion that he must have an artificial face of some kind 
fitted on at the place of contact with the ball. Or such an 
artificial face may become necessary by reason of the wear 
and tear on the face of the driver. Why forsake the old 
leather face ? There is an idea abroad in these days that 
it is too soft and dead for the purposes of the new rubber- 
cored ball ; and the impression that the latter likes the very 
hardest surface it is possible to apply to it has resulted in 
horn, vulcanite, and even steel faces being fitted to drivers 
and brassies. I do not think that in actual practice they 
are any better than leather, though some golfers may per- 
suade themselves that they are. If a man, who is a good 
and steady driver, makes several drives from the tee with a 
club which has a leather face, and several more with another 
possessing a steel or vulcanite face, I am confident that he 
will on the average get at least as far with the leather as 
with the other, and I shall be surprised, if the test is fair 
and reliable, if he does not get further. I have leather faces 
on my drivers, and I think that latterly I have been driving 
further than I ever did. A point of objection to the harder 



THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 43 

surfaces, which at times is very serious, is that the ball is 
very much more liable to skid off them than off others, and 
thus the golfer may often blame himself for shots that look 
like a mixture of foozle and slice when the fault is not his 
at all, but that of the peculiarity of the club with which he 
is so much in love. On the other hand, it must be admitted 
that he scores over his opponent with the leather-faced club 
when the weather is wet, for the leather is then liable to 
soften and becomes very dead. 

Never select a club because it has a long head, but let 
your preference be in favour of the shorter heads. The 
beginner, or the player of only moderate experience, puts it 
to himself that it is a very difficult thing always to strike the 
ball fairly on the face of the club, and that the longer the 
face is the more room he has for inaccuracy of his stroke. 
But he is wrong. Whatever the length of the face, unless 
the ball is hit fairly and squarely in the centre, it will not 
travel properly, and the effect is really worse when the point 
of contact is a little off the centre in a long-faced club than 
when it is the same distance removed from the centre of 
a short face. Moreover, despite this fact, which will soon 
become apparent to the golfer, the knowledge that he has 
a long-faced driver may very easily get him into a loose 
way of playing his tee shots. He may cease to regard 
exactness as indispensable, as it always is. The tendency 
of late years has been to make the heads of wooden 
clubs shorter and still shorter, and this tendency is well 
justified. 

The question of the whip or suppleness of the shaft must 
generally be decided by individual style and preference ; but 
I advise the beginner against purchasing a whippy driver to 
start with, whatever he may do later on. He should rather 
err on the side of stiffness. When a man is well on his 
drive, has a good style, and is getting a long ball from the 
tee every time, it is doubtless true that he obtains better 
results from a shaft with a little life in it than from a stiff 



44 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

one. But the advantage is not by any means so great as 
might be imagined, and many fine players drive their best 
balls with stiff clubs. It must always be remembered that 
when the stroke is not made perfectly there is a much 
greater tendency to slice with a supple shaft than with a stiff 
one, and the disadvantages of the former are especially 
pronounced on a windy day. It is all a matter of preference 
and predilection, and when these are absent the best thing to 
do is to strike the happy medium and select a shaft that is 
fairly supple but which still leaves you in the most perfect 
command of the head of the club, and not as if the latter 
were connected with your hands by nothing more than a 
slender rush. 

Weight again is largely a matter of fancy, and there is no 
rule to the effect that a slender player should use a light 
club and one of powerful build a heavy one; indeed, one 
constantly finds the slim men employing the most ponderous 
drivers, as if, as it were, to make up for their own lightness, 
while heavy men will often prefer clubs that are like pen- 
holders to them. Once more I suggest the adoption of the 
medium as being generally the most satisfactory. I have 
a strong dislike to drivers that are unusually light, and I 
do not think that anyone can consistently get the best 
results from them. They entail too much swinging, and 
it is much harder to guide the club properly when the 
weight of the head cannot be felt. Of course a club 
that is strongly favoured by a golfer and suits him excel- 
lently in all respects save that it errs on the side of light- 
ness, can easily be put right by the insertion of a little lead 
in the sole. 

Little need be said in this place about the selection of 
the brassy. Whatever may be the amount of whip in the 
shaft of the driver, the brassy should not possess any undue 
suppleness, for it has heavier and rougher work to do than 
the club which is used for the tee shots, and there must be 
very little give in the stick if satisfactory results are to be 



THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 45 

obtained when the ball is lying at all heavily. The head 
and the face should be small; but in other respects the 
pattern of the driver should be closely adhered to, for it is 
one of the principles of my tuition that when the golfer 
takes his brassy in his hand to play his second shot, he 
should be brought to feel as nearly as possible that he is 
merely doing the drive over again. Many authorities 
recommend that the shaft of the brassy shall be an inch 
or so shorter than that of the driver; but I can see no 
necessity for its being shorter ; and, on the other hand, for the 
reason I have just stated, I think it is eminently desirable 
that it should be exactly the same length. On this point I 
shall have more to say in another chapter. Care should be 
taken that both the brassy and the driver have exactly the 
same lie, that is to say, that when the soles of both clubs are 
laid quite flat upon the ground the shafts shall be projecting 
towards the golfer at precisely the same angle. If they 
have not the same lie, then, if the player takes up the same 
stance at the same distance from the ball when making a 
brassy shot as when he struck the ball from the tee with his 
driver, the sole of the club will not sweep evenly along the 
turf as it comes on to the ball, and the odds will be against 
a good shot being made. 

I am a strong believer in having reserve drivers and 
brassies, even if one is only a very moderate golfer. Every- 
body knows what it is to suffer torture during the period 
when one is said to be " off his drive," and I think there is 
no remedy for this disease like a change of clubs. There 
may be nothing whatever the matter with the club you have 
been playing with, and which at one time gave you so much 
delight, but which now seems so utterly incapable of despatch- 
ing a single good ball despite all the drastic alterations 
which you make in your methods. Of course it is not at all 
the fault of the club, but I think that nearly everybody gets 
more or less tired of playing with the same implement, and 
at length looks upon it with familiar contempt. The best 



46 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

thing to do in such circumstances is to give it a rest, and 
it will soon be discovered that absence makes the heart 
grow fonder in this matter as in so many others. But the 
reserve clubs which are taken out while the first string are 
resting should be in themselves good and almost as exactly- 
suitable to the player's style as the others. It is a mistake 
to take up a club which has been regarded as a failure, and 
in which one has no confidence. Therefore, I suggest that 
so soon as the golfer has really found his style and is 
tolerably certain about it, and the exact kind of club that he 
likes best, he should fit himself up with both a spare driver 
and a spare brassy, and give them each a turn as occasion 
demands. It is hardly necessary to add that whenever an 
important game is being played, considerable wisdom will be 
exercised if the reserves are taken out in the bag along with 
the clubs with which it is intended to play, for though 
breakages are not matters of everyday occurrence, they do 
happen sometimes, and nothing would be more exasperat- 
ing in such a contingency than the knowledge that for 
the rest of the game you would be obliged to play your 
tee shots with your brassy or your brassy shots with your 
cleek. 

The driving cleek, for long shots, should have a fairly 
straight face with very little loft upon it. It should have a 
thick blade, should be fairly heavy, and its shaft should be 
stout and stiff. This makes a powerful club, with which 
some fine long work can be accomplished. I am inclined to 
think that one reason why so many players find it extremely 
difficult to get good work out of their cleeks, is that they use 
them with heads too thin and light. A large proportion of 
the cleeks one sees about are too delicate and ladylike. It 
is sometimes expected of a cleek that it will despatch a ball 
for, say, a hundred and sixty yards, and no club will do 
that, no matter how skilful the golfer who wields it may be, 
unless there is sufficient weight in it. A second cleek, which 
will be found in the bag of the experienced golfer, will have 



THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 47 

a thinner blade and much more loft upon it, but in other 
respects will be very much like the other one, though not 
nearly so heavy. This instrument is for the shorter cleek- 
shot distances, which are just so long that an iron cannot 
reach them. 

There is great diversity in irons, and the player may be 
left in the first place in the hands of his professional adviser, 
and afterwards to his own taste, with the single hint from 
me that undue lightness should at all times be avoided. Of 
the two mashies which the complete golfer will carry out 
with him on to the links, one, for pitching the ball well up 
with very little run to follow, will have a deep face, will 
be of medium weight, and be very stiff in the shaft. I 
emphasise the deep face and the rigidity of the shaft. 
This mashie will also have plenty of loft upon it. The 
other one, for use chiefly in running up to the hole, will 
have a straighter face, but will otherwise be much the 
same. However, not all golfers consider two mashies to 
be necessary, and I myself depend chiefly upon one. Of the 
niblick it need only be said that it must be strong, heavy, 
and well lofted. 

I have stated that the golfer may carry two putters in his 
bag ; but I mean that he should do so only when he has a 
definite and distinct purpose for each of them, and I certainly 
do not advise his going from one kind to the other for the 
same sort of putt. There is great danger in such a practice. 
If he is doing very poor putting with one club, he will 
naturally fly for help to the other one, and the probability is 
that he will do just as badly with that. Then he returns to 
the first one, and again finds that his putts do not come off, 
and by this time he is in a hopeless quandary. If he has 
only one putter he will generally make some sort of a success 
of it if he can putt at all, and my private belief is that the 
putter itself has very little to do with the way in which a 
golfer putts. It is the man that counts and not the tool. I 
have tried all kinds of putters in my time, and have generally 



48 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

gone back to the plainest and simplest of all. I have occa- 
sionally used the aluminium putter. It has much to recom- 
mend it to those who like this style of implement, and Braid 
always does very well with it. The Travis or Schenectady 
putter, which was so popular for a short time after the 
Amateur Championship last year, owing to the American 
player having done such wonderful things with it, I do not 
succeed with. When I try to putt with it I cannot keep my 
eye away from its heel. But the fact is, as I have already 
indicated, that you can putt with anything if you hit the ball 
properly. Everything depends on that — hitting the ball 
properly — and no putter that was ever made will help you 
to hole out if you do not strike the ball exactly as it ought 
to be struck, while if you do so strike it, any putter will hole 
out for you. The philosophy of putting is simple, but is 
rarely appreciated. The search for the magic putter that 
will always pop the ball into the hole and leave the player 
nothing to do will go on for ever. 

One other observation that I have to make on clubs in 
general is, that I think it is a mistake to have the shafts any 
longer than is absolutely necessary. Some golfers think that 
an iron or a cleek is just the right length for them when there 
are still a few inches of stick projecting inwards, towards 
their bodies, when they have made their grip. Why that 
spare stick ? It cannot possibly be of any use, and may con- 
ceivably be harmful. It is surely better to have it cut off and 
then to grip the club at the end of the handle. A larger 
sense of power and control is obtained in this manner. My 
own clubs seem to most golfers who examine them to be on 
the short side, and this is a convenient opportunity for giving 
a few details concerning my favourites, which may prove of 
interest to the readers of these notes. I should prefix the 
statement with the observation that I am 5 feet 9J inches in 
height, and that normally I weigh 1 1 J stones. Young 
players who might be inclined to adapt their clubs to my 
measurements should bear these factors in mind, though 1 




PLATE 1. MV SET OF CLUBS 



THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 4*9 

seem to be of something like average height and build. 
Here, then, are the statistics of my bag: — 



Club. 


Length. 


Weight. 


Driver 


. 42 


inches 


I2f OZ. 


Brassy 


. 42 


jf 


I2J „ 


Driving mashie 


. 38 


j> 


144 ,, 


Driving cleek . 


• 37 




I3J » 


Light cleek . • 


37 




i3i » 


Iron 


. 35i 




iSi ,, 


Mashie 


. 364 




i5i » 


Niblick . 


• 37 




19 » 


Putter (putting cleek) 


• 33i 




15 » 



Each measurement was made from the heel to the end of 
the shaft. 

I have two explanations to make concerning this list of 
dimensions. I have included the driving mashie, of which I 
have said nothing in this chapter. It is an alternative club, 
and it is better that it should be discussed exclusively in its 
proper place, which is when cleek shots are being considered. 
Again, on making a critical examination of these measure- 
ments, the golfer of a little experience will promptly ask why 
my mashie is an inch and a quarter longer than my iron. 
It is longer because one has sometimes to play high lofting 
shots over trees and the like, and in such cases the loft of the 
mashie is necessary and a considerable amount of power as 
well — hence the extra stick. 

As I have said, the collection of a set of clubs that con- 
form in essentials to their owner's ideal is a very slow and 
often an expensive process. A club that was bought in the 
shop for six shillings might have cost its owner six sovereigns 
when the many unsatisfactory and discarded articles that 
were bought while this one perfect gem was being searched 
for are taken into account. Therefore it behoves the man 
who is to any extent satisfied with his clubs to take a proper 
pride in them and look well after them I like to see a 
golfer play with bright irons, and shafts that give evidence 
4 



50 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

of tender and affectionate care. It jars upon one's nerves to 
see rusty irons and mashies which have evidently not been 
cleaned for months, and which are now past hope. Such a 
man does not deserve to have good clubs, nor to play good 
strokes with them. But many golfers, even when they have 
a tender and careful regard for the excellent merits of their 
favourites, seem to imagine that the beginning and end of 
their duty towards them is to keep their irons bright and 
free from the slightest semblance of rust. More often than 
not the shaft is never given a thought, and yet a perfect 
shaft that just suits the man who has to play with it is one 
of the rarest and most difficult things to discover. It would 
be difficult to replace it, and to keep it in its best condition 
it needs constant care and attention. An unreasoning golfer 
may play with his clubs on wet days, see that the irons are 
brightened afterwards, and store his collection in his locker 
without another thought concerning them. And then some 
time later when he is out on the links snap goes one of his 
shafts, and " Confound that rotten wood ! " he exclaims. But 
it is not a case of rotten wood at all. When shafts are con- 
stantly allowed to get wet and are afterwards merely wiped 
with a rag and given no further attention, all the life dries 
out of the wood, and they are sure to break sooner or later. 
It should be your invariable practice, when you have been 
out on a wet day, first to see that your shafts are well 
dried and then to give them a thoroughly good oiling with 
linseed oil, applied with a rag kept specially for the purpose. 
This will keep them in excellent condition. The tops of the 
club heads may be oiled in the same way ; but extreme care 
should be taken that not a drop of oil is allowed to touch the 
face of the wooden clubs. It would tend to open the grain, 
and then, when next you played in the wet, the damp would 
get inside the wood and cause it gradually to rot. I counsel 
all golfers when playing in wet weather to have covers or 
hoods attached to their bags, so that the heads of their 
instruments may always be kept in shelter. This will do 



THE CHOICE AND CARE OF CLUBS 51 

much for their preservation, and at the same time add mate- 
rially to the satisfaction of the player, for he can never feel 
that he has the means to do him^^elf justice on the tee when 
the head of his driver is in a half soaked state. No player, 
whatever his abilities as a golfer, should refrain from exer- 
cising this precautionary measure because he has seen only 
the very best players doing so, and because he fancies it may 
be regarded by his friends as affectation. The fact that it 
is chiefly the best players who do these things only indicates 
that they know better than others what is due to their clubs 
and how to look after them. There is no affectation in 
copying their methods in this respect 



CHAPTER V 
DRIVING— PRELIMINARIES 

A.d vantage of a good drive — And the pleasure of it — More about the driver — 
Tee low — Why high tees are bad — The question of stance — Eccentricities 
and bad habits — Begin in good style — Measurements of the stance — The 
reason why — The grip of the club — My own method and its advantages — 
Two hands like one — Comparative tightness of the hands — Variations during 
the swing — Certain disadvantages of the two-V grip — Addressing the ball — 
Freaks of style — How they must be compensated for — Too much waggling 
— The point to look at — Not the top of the ball bi^t the side of it. 

IT has been said that the amateur golfers of Great Britain 
are in these days suffering from a " debauchery of long 
driving." The general sense of Mr. Travis's remark is excel- 
lent, meaning that there is a tendency to regard a very long 
drive as almost everything in the playing of a hole, and to 
be utterly careless of straightness and the short game so 
long as the ball has been hit from the tee to the full extent 
of the golfer's power. A long drive is not by any means 
everything, and the young golfer should resist any inclina- 
tion to strive for the 250-yard ball to the detriment or even 
the total neglect of other equally important, though perhaps 
less showy, considerations in the playing of a hole. But 
having said so much, and conveyed the solemn warning that 
is necessary, I am obliged to admit that the long driver has 
very full justification for himself, and that the wisely regu- 
lated ambition of the young player to be one is both natural 
and laudable. The long drive, as I say, is not everything ; 
but to play well it is as necessary to make a good drive as 
to hole a short putt, or nearly so, and from the golfer who 



DRIVING— PRELIMINARIES 53 

does not drive well a most marvellous excellence is required 
in the short game if he is to hold his own in good company, 
or ever be anything more than a long-handicap man. The 
good drive is the foundation of a good game, and just as 
one and one make two, so it follows that the man who 
drives the longer ball has the rest of the game made easier 
and more certain for him. This apart, there is no stroke in 
golf that gives the same amount of pleasure as does the 
perfect driving of the ball from the tee, none that makes 
the heart feel lighter, and none that seems to bring the glow 
of delight into the watching eye as this one does. The man 
who has never stood upon the tee with a sturdy rival near 
him and driven a perfect ball, the hands having followed 
well through and finished nicely up against the head, while 
the little white speck in the distance, after skimming the 
earth for a time, now rises and soars upwards, clearing all 
obstacles, and seeming to revel in its freedom and speed 
until at last it dips gracefully back to earth again — I say 
that the man who has not done this thing has missed one of 
the joys of life. I have heard the completest sportsmen say 
that there are very few things in the entire world of sport 
that can be compared with it, and none that is superior. 

So now let us get on to our drive. 

In the first place, the driver must be selected, and the 
hints I have already given upon the choice of clubs will 
serve tolerably well in this respect. Let it only be said again 
that the golfer should do his utmost to avoid extremes in 
length or shortness. One hears of the virtues of fishing-rod 
drivers, and the next day that certain great players display a 
tendency to shorten their clubs. There is nothing like the 
happy medium, which has proved its capability of getting 
the longest balls. The length of the club must, of course, 
vary according to the height of the player, for what would 
be a short driver for a six-foot man would almost be a 
fishing-rod to the diminutive person who stands but five 
feet high. Let the weight be medium also ; but for reasons 



54 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

already stated do not let it err on the side of lightness. 
The shaft of the club should be of moderate suppleness. As 
I have said, if it is too whippy it may be hard to control, but 
if it is too stiff it leaves too much hard work to be done by 
the muscles of the golfer. Practising what I preach, my own 
drivers are carefully selected for this delicate medium of 
suppleness of shaft, and when a stick is found that is exactly 
perfect it is well worth great care for ever. Also I reiterate 
that the head of the club should not be too large ; driving is 
not thereby made any easier, and carelessness is encouraged. 
The face should not be quite vertical : if it were, only the 
top edge and not the full face would be seen when the stance 
had been taken and the club head was resting upon the tee 
in its proper place. There must be just so much loft that 
the face can be seen when the golfer is ready and in position 
for the swing. But avoid having too much loft filed on the 
club as a fancied remedy for driving too low and getting 
into all the bunkers. You do not fail to get the ball up 
because there is not sufficient loft on the club, but because 
you are doing something wrong which can easily be reme- 
died ; while, on the other hand, be very careful of the fact 
that, as you add loft to the face of the driver so at the same 
time you are cutting off distance and losing both power and 
the delightful sense of it. When the weather is wet, it is a 
good plan to chalk the face of the club, as this counteracts 
the tendency of the ball to skid from it. 

Tee the ball low, rejecting the very prevalent but erroneous 
idea that you are more certain of getting it away cleanly 
and well when it is poised high off the ground. The stroke 
that sweeps the ball well away from the low tee is the most 
natural and perfect, and it follows that the ball, properly 
driven from this low tee, is the best of all. Moreover, one is 
not so liable to get too much underneath the ball and make 
a feeble shot into the sky, which is one of the most exasper- 
ating forms of ineffectual effort in the whole range of golf. 
Another convincing argument in favour of the low tee is that 



DRIVING— PRELIMINARIES 55 

it preserves a greater measure of similarity between the first 
shot and the second, helping to make the latter, with the 
brassy, almost a repetition of the first, and therefore simple 
and comparatively easy. If you make a high tee, when you 
come to play your second stroke with your brassy, you 
will be inclined to find fault with even the most perfect 
brassy lies — when the ball is so well held up by the blades 
of grass that the best possible shot with this far-sending 
club should be the result. If you are favoured with an 
ordinary brassy lie, you imagine the ball to be in a hole, 
exclaim that you are badly cupped, and call out vexatiously 
for an iron. This is the regular result of playing from a high 
tee, whereas, when the low one is systematically adopted, the 
difference between the play with the driver and with the 
brassy from a good lie is inconsiderable, the brassy is used 
more frequently, and the results are regularly better. As I 
have already suggested, one of the principles of my long 
game is to make the play with the brassy as nearly similar 
to that with the driver as possible, and a low tee is the first 
step in that direction. 

There are wide variations in the stances adopted by 
different players, and extremes of one sort or another are 
usually the result of bad habits contracted in the early 
stages of initiation into the mysteries of the game. Some- 
times the ball is seen opposite the toe of the left foot ; at 
others it is far away to the right. Either of these players 
may get long balls constantly, but it is in spite of the stance 
and not because of it, for they are contending against a 
handicap all the time, and have unconsciously to introduce 
other mannerisms into their play to counteract the evil 
which a bad stance inevitably brings about. It is certain 
that if they had driven in the easier way from their youth 
upwards, they would in their golfing prime have been getting 
longer balls than those with which they are after all appar- 
ently satisfied. But I have already admitted generally, and 
here again admit in a specific instance, the dissatisfaction, 



56 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

and even danger, that is likely to accrue from an attempt 
to uproot a system of play which has been established in an 
individual for many years. One can only insist upon the 
necessity of starting well, and plead earnestly to any readers 
who may not yet be far advanced in their experience of 
the game, to see that their play is based on wise and sure 
foundations. There is nothing of my own discovery or in- 
vention in my stance for the drive. It is simply that which is 
theoretically and scientifically correct, being calculated, that 
is, to afford the greatest freedom of movement to the arms, 
legs, and body in the swinging of the club, so that the 
strength may be exerted to the fullest advantage at the right 
moment and continued in its effect upon the ball for the 
longest possible period. 

First, then, as to distance from the ball. The player 
should stand so far away from it that when he is in position 
and the club face is resting against the teed ball, just as 
when ready to strike it, the end of the shaft shall reach 
exactly up to his left knee when the latter is ever so slightly 
bent. In this position he should be able, when he has 
properly gripped the club, to reach the ball comfortably and 
without any stretching, the arms indeed being not quite 
straight out but having a slight bend at the elbows, so that 
when the club is waggled in the preliminary address to the 
ball, plenty of play can be felt in them. I must now invite 
the player who is following me in these remarks to give his 
attention simultaneously to the photograph of myself, as 
I have taken my stance upon the tee for an ordinary drive 
(Plate VI.), with the object of getting the longest ball 
possible under conditions in all respects normal; and to 
the small diagram in the corner of the picture giving all the 
measurements necessary to a complete understanding of the 
position. I may point out again that my height is 5 feet 
9j inches, and that the length of my driver from the heel 
to the end of the shaft is 42 inches. My stature being 
medium, the majority of players who desire to follow my 



DRIVING— PRELIMINARIES 57 

suggestions will be able to do so without any altering of the 
measurements given in these diagrams; and, indeed, until 
any variation in height one way or the other becomes 
considerable, there is no necessity to vary them. Remember 
that in this and all subsequent illustrations the line marked 
A points to the direction in which it is desired that the ball 
should travel, and that the B line over which the player 
stands is at right angles to it. Those who wish at this 
moment to examine the stance in the most practical manner, 
and to compare it with that which they have been in the 
habit of playing from, need hardly be informed that at the 
corners of nearly every carpet there are rectangular lines 
either in the pattern or made by borders, which may be 
taken to represent those in the diagram, and a penny placed 
at the junction will stand for the ball. It will be observed 
that, for the most lucid and complete exposition of the stances, 
in this and all subsequent cases, the diagrams have been 
turned about, so that here the player has, as it were, his back 
to the reader, while in the photographs he is, of course, facing 
him. But the stances are identical. The diagrams have 
been drawn to scale. 

It will be noticed, in the first place, that I have my toes 
turned well outwards. The pivoting which is necessary, and 
which will be described in due course, is done naturally and 
without any effort when the toes are pointed in this manner. 
While it is a mistake to place the feet too near each other, 
there is a common tendency to place them too far apart. 
When this is done, ease and perfection of the swing are 
destroyed and power is wasted, whilst the whole movement 
is devoid of grace. It will be seen that my left foot is a 
little, but not much, in advance of the ball. My heel, indeed, 
is almost level with it, being but an inch from the B line at 
the end of which the ball is teed. The toe, however, is 9J 
inches away from it, all measurements in this case and others 
being taken from the exact centre of the point of the toe. 
The point of the right toe is 19 inches distant from the B 



58 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

line, and while this toe is 2j\ inches from the A line the 
other is 34 inches from it, so that the right foot is 6\ inches 
in advance of the left. After giving these measurements, 
there is really little more to explain about the stance, 
particularly as I shall show shortly how variations from it 
almost certainly bring about imperfect drives. Theoretically, 
the reason for the position is, I think, fairly obvious. The 
right foot is in advance of the left, so that at the most critical 
period of the stroke there shall be nothing to impede the 
follow-through, but everything to encourage it, and so that 
at the finish the body itself can be thrown forward in the 
last effort to continue the application of power. It would 
not be in a position to do so if the left foot were in front to 
bar the way. The position of the ball as between the right 
foot and the left is such that the club will strike it just at the 
time when it is capable of doing so to the utmost advantage, 
being then, and for the very minute portion of a second 
during which ball and club may be supposed to remain in 
contact, moving in as nearly as possible a straight line and 
at its maximum speed. 

Now comes the all-important consideration of the grip. 
This is another matter in which the practice of golfers differs 
greatly, and upon which there has been much controversy. 
My grip is one of my own invention. It differs materially 
from most others, and if I am asked to offer any excuse for 
it, I shall say that I adopted it only after a careful trial of 
all the other grips of which I had ever heard, that in theory 
and practice I find it admirable — more so than any other — 
and that in my opinion it has contributed materially to the 
attainment of such skill as I possess. The favour which 
I accord to my method might be viewed with suspicion 
if it had been my natural or original grip, which came 
naturally or accidentally to me when I first began to 
play as a boy, so many habits that are bad being con- 
tracted at this stage and clinging to the player for the 
rest of his life. But this was not the case, for when I 







..^ 



PLATE // THE GRIP WITH THE LEFT HAND 




PLATE III. THE OVERLAPPING GRIP 



DRIVING— PRELIMINARIES 59 

first began to play golf I grasped my club in what is 
generally regarded as the orthodox manner, that is to 
say, across the palms of both hands separately, with both 
thumbs right round the shaft (on the left one, at all events), 
and with the joins between the thumbs and first fingers 
showing like two V's over the top of the shaft. This is 
usually described as the two-V grip, and it is the one which 
is taught by the majority of professionals to whom the 
beginner appeals for first instruction in the game. Of course 
it is beyond question that some players achieve very fine 
results with this grip, but I abandoned it many years ago in 
favour of one that I consider to be better. My contention 
is that this grip of mine is sounder in theory and easier in 
practice, tends to make a better stroke and to secure a 
straighter ball, and that players who adopt it from the 
beginning will stand a much better chance of driving well at 
an early stage than if they went in for the old-fashioned 
two-V. My grip is an overlapping, but not an interlocking 
one. Modifications of it are used by many fine players, and 
it is coming into more general practice as its merits are 
understood and appreciated. I use it for all my strokes, and 
it is only when putting that I vary it in the least, and then 
the change is so slight as to be scarcely noticeable. The 
photographs (Plates II., III., IV., and V.) illustrating the 
grip of the left hand singly, and of the two together from 
different points of view, should now be closely examined. 

It will be seen at once that I do not grasp the club 
across the palm of either hand. The club being taken in 
the left hand first, the shaft passes from the knuckle joint of 
the first finger across the ball of the second. The left thumb 
lies straight down the shaft — that is to say, it is just to the 
right of the centre of the shaft. But the following are the 
significant features of the grip. The right hand is brought 
up so high that the palm of it covers over the left thumb, 
leaving very little of the latter to be seen. The first and 
second fingers of the right hand just reach round to the thumb 



60 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

of the left, and the third finger completes the overlapping 
process, so that the club is held in the grip as if it were in a 
vice. The little finger of the right hand rides on the first 
finger of the left. The great advantage of this grip is that 
both hands feel and act like one, and if, even while sitting in 
his chair, a player who has never tried it before will take a 
stick in his hands in the manner I have described, he must 
at once be convinced that there is a great deal in what I 
say for it, although, of course, if he has been accustomed to 
the two V's, the success of my grip cannot be guaranteed at 
the first trial. It needs some time to become thoroughly 
happy with it. 

We must now consider the degree of tightness of the 
grip by either hand, for this is an important matter. 
Some teachers of golf and various books of instruction 
inform us that we should grasp the club firmly with the 
left hand and only lightly with the right, leaving the former 
to do the bulk of the work and the other merely to guide 
the operations. It is astonishing with what persistency this 
error has been repeated, for error I truly believe it is. Ask any 
really first-class player with what comparative tightness he 
holds the club in his right and left hands, and I am confident 
that in nearly every case he will declare that he holds it 
nearly if not quite as tightly with the right hand as with the 
left. Personally I grip quite as firmly with the right hand 
as with the other one. When the other way is adopted, the 
left hand being tight and the right hand simply watching 
it, as it were, there is an irresistible tendency for the latter 
to tighten up suddenly at some part of the upward or down- 
ward swing, and, as surely as there is a ball on the tee, 
when it does so there will be mischief. Depend upon it the 
instinct of activity will prevent the right hand from going 
through with the swing in that indefinite state of looseness. 
Perhaps a yard from the ball in the upward swing, or a yard 
from it when coming down, there will be a convulsive grip 
of the right hand which, with an immediate acknowledgment 



DRIVING— PRELIMINARIES 61 

of guilt, will relax again. Such a happening is usually fatal ; 
it certainly deserves to be. Slicing, pulling, sclaffing, and 
the foundering of the innocent globe — all these tragedies 
may at times be traced to this determination of the right 
hand not to be ignored but to have its part to play in the 
making of the drive. Therefore in all respects my right 
hand is a joint partner with the left. 

The grip with the first finger and thumb of my right 
hand is exceedingly firm, and the pressure of the little finger 
on the knuckle of the left hand is very decided. In the 
same way it is the thumb and first finger of the left hand 
that have most of the gripping work to do. Again, the 
palm of the right hand presses hard against the thumb of 
the left. In the upward swing this pressure is gradually 
decreased, until when the club reaches the turning-point 
there is no longer any such pressure ; indeed, at this point 
the palm and the thumb are barely in contact. This release 
is a natural one, and will or should come naturally to the 
player for the purpose of allowing the head of the club to 
swing well and freely back. But the grip of the thumb and 
first finger of the right hand, as well as that of the little 
finger upon the knuckle of the first finger of the left hand, 
is still as firm as at the beginning. As the club head is 
swung back again towards the ball, the palm of the right 
hand and the thumb of the left gradually come together 
again. Both the relaxing and the re-tightening are done 
with the most perfect graduation, so that there shall be 
no jerk to take the club off the straight line. The easing 
begins when the hands are about shoulder high and the club 
shaft is perpendicular, because it is at this time that the 
club begins to pull, and if it were not let out in the manner 
explained, the result would certainly be a half shot or very 
little more than that, for a full and perfect swing would be 
an impossibility. This relaxation of the palm also serves to 
give more freedom to the wrist at the top of the swing just 
when that freedom is desirable. 



62 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

I have the strongest belief in the soundness of the grip 
that I have thus explained, for when it is employed both 
hands are acting in unison and to the utmost advantage, 
whereas it often happens in the two-V grip, even when 
practised by the most skilful players, that in the downward 
swing there is a sense of the left hand doing its utmost to 
get through and of the right hand holding it back. 

There is only one other small matter to mention in con- 
nection with the question of grip. Some golfers imagine 
that if they rest the left thumb down the shaft and let the 
right hand press upon it there will be a considerable danger 
of breaking the thumb, so severe is the pressure when the 
stroke is being made. As a matter of fact, I have quite 
satisfied myself that if the thumb is kept in the same place 
there is not the slightest risk of anything of the kind. Also 
if the thumb remains immovable, as it should, there is no 
possibility of the club turning in the hands as so often 
happens in the case of the two-V grip when the ground is 
hit rather hard, a pull or a slice being the usual consequence. 
I must be excused for treating upon these matters at such 
length. They are often neglected, but they are of extreme 
importance in laying the foundations of a good game of golf. 

In addressing the ball, take care to do so with the centre 
of the face of the club, that is, at the desired point of contact. 
Some awkward eccentricities may frequently be observed on 
the tee. A player may be seen addressing his ball from the 
toe of the driver, and I have even noticed the address being 
made with the head of the club quite inside the ball, while 
in other cases it is the heel of the club which is applied 
to the object to be struck. The worthy golfers who are 
responsible for these freaks of style no doubt imagine that 
they are doing a wise and proper thing, and in the most 
effectual manner counteracting some other irregularity ot 
their method of play which may not be discoverable, and 
which is in any case incurable. Yet nothing is more certain 
than that another irregularity must be introduced into the 



DRIVING— PRELIMINARIES 63 

drive in order to correct the one made in the address. To 
the point at which the club is addressed it will naturally 
return in the course of the swing, and if it is to be guided to 
any other than the original place, there must be a constant 
effort all through the swing to effect this change in direction, 
and most likely somewhere or other there will be sufficient 
jerk to spoil the drive. In the case where the ball is 
addressed with the toe of the club, the player must find 
iit necessary almost to fall on the ball in coming down, 
and it is quite impossible for him to get his full distance in 
such circumstances. 

A waggle of the head of the club as a preliminary before 
commencing the swing is sometimes necessary after the 
stance and grip have been taken, but every young golfer 
should be warned against excess in this habit. With the 
stance and grip arranged, the line of the shot in view, and 
a full knowledge of what is required from the stroke, there is 
really very little more that needs thinking about before the 
swing is taken. One short preliminary waggle will tend to 
make the player feel comfortable and confident, but some 
golfers may be observed trying the patience of all about 
them by an interminable process of waggling, the most 
likely result of which is a duffed shot, since, when at last 
the stroke is made, the player is in a state of semi-catalepsy, 
and has no clear idea of what he is going to do or how he is 
going to do it. 

In addressing the ball, and during the upward and down- 
ward swings until it has been safely despatched, the sight 
should be kept riveted, not on the top of the ball, as is 
customary, but upon the ground immediately to the right 
of it (see diagram on p. 170). To the point where the gaze 
is fixed the head of the club will automatically be guided. 
That is why you are told to keep your eye on the ball. But 
you do not want to hit the top of the ball. So look to the 
side, where you do want to hit it. 



CHAPTER VI 
DRIVING— THE SWING OF THE CLUB 

"Slow back" — The line of the club head in the upward swing — The golfer's 
head must be kept rigid — The action of the wrists — Position at the top of 
the swing — Movements of the arms^— Pivoting of the body — No swaying — 
Action of the feet and legs — Speed of the club during the swing — The 
moment of impact — More about the wrists — No pure wrist shot in golf — 
The follow-through — Timing of the body action— Arms and hands high up 
at the finish — How bad drives are made — The causes of slicing — When the 
ball is pulled — Misapprehensions as to slicing and pulling — Dropping of the 
right shoulder — Its evil consequences — No trick in long driving — Hit pro- 
perly and hard — What is pressing and what is not — Summary of the drive. 

NOW let US consider the upward and downward swings 
of the club, and the movements of the arms, legs, 
feet, and body in relation to them. As a first injunction, it 
may be stated that the club should be drawn back rather 
more slowly than you intend to bring it down again. " Slow 
back " is a golfing maxim that is both old and wise. The 
club should begin to gain speed when the upward swing is 
about half made, and the increase should be gradual until 
the top is reached, but it should never be so fast that control 
of the club is to any extent lost at the turning-point. The 
head of the club should be taken back fairly straight from 
the ball — along the A line — for the first six inches, and after 
that any tendency to sweep it round sharply to the back 
should be avoided. Keep it very close to the straight line 
until it is half-way up. The old St. Andrews style of driv- 
ing largely consisted in this sudden sweep round, but the 
modern method appears to be easier and productive of 
better results. So this carrying of the head of the club 

84 



* DRIVING—THE SWING OF THE CLUB 65 

upwards and backwards seems to be a very simple matter, 
capable of explanation in a very few words ; but, as every 
golfer of a month's experience knows, there is a long list of 
details to be attended to, which I have not yet named, each 
of which seems to vie with the others in its attempt to de- 
stroy the effectiveness of the drive. Let us begin at the top, 
as it were, and work downwards, and first of all there is the 
head of the golfer to consider. 

The head should be kept perfectly motionless from the 
time of the address until the ball has been sent away and is 
well on its flight. The least deviation from this rule means 
a proportionate danger of disaster. When a drive has been 
badly foozled, the readiest and most usual explanation is that 
the eye has been taken off the ball, and the wise old men 
who have been watching shake their heads solemnly, and 
utter that parrot-cry of the links, " Keep your eye on the 
ball." Certainly this is a good and necessary rule so far as 
it goes ; but I do not believe that one drive in a hundred is 
missed because the eye has not been kept on the ball. On 
the other hand, I believe that one of the most fruitful causes 
of failure with the tee shot is the moving of the head. Until 
the ball has gone, it should, as I say, be as nearly perfectly 
still as possible, and I would have written that it should not 
be moved to the extent of a sixteenth of an inch, but for the 
fact that it is not human to be so still, and golf is always 
inclined to the human side. When the head has been kept 
quite still and the club has reached the top of the upward 
swing, the eyes should be looking over the middle of the left 
shoulder, the left one being dead over the centre of that 
shoulder. Most players at one time or another, and the best 
of them when they are a little off their game, fall into every 
trap that the evil spirits of golf lay for them, and uncon- 
sciously experience a tendency to lift the head for five or six 
inches away from the ball while the upward swing is being 
taken. This is often what is imagined to be taking the eye 
off the ball, particularly as, when it is carried to excess, the 
5 



66 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

eye, struggling gallantly to do its duty, finds considerable 
difficulty in getting a sight of the ball over the left shoulder, 
and sometimes loses it altogether for an instant. An exa- 
mination of the photograph showing the top of the swing 
(Plate Vn.) will make it clear that there is very little 
margin for the moving of the head if the ball is to be kept in 
full view for the whole of the time. 

In the upward swing the right shoulder should be raised 
gradually. It is unnecessary for me to submit any instruc- 
tion on this point, since the movement is natural and inevit- 
able, and there is no tendency towards excess ; but the arms 
and wrists need attention. From the moment when the club 
is first taken back the left wrist should begin to turn inwards 
(that is to say, the movement is in the same direction as that 
taken by the hands of a clock), and so turn away the face of 
the club from the ball. When this is properly done, the toe 
of the club will point to the sky when it is level with the 
shoulder and will be dead over the middle of the shaft. 
This turning or twisting process continues all the way until 
at the top of the swing the toe of the club is pointing straight 
downwards to the ground. A reference to Plate VII. will 
show that this has been done, and that as the result the left 
wrist finishes the upward swing underneath the shaft, which 
is just where it ought to be. When the wrist has not been 
at work in the manner indicated, the toe of the club at the 
top of the drive will be pointing upwards. In order to satisfy 
himself properly about the state of affairs thus far in the 
making of the drive, the golfer should test himself at the top 
of the swing by holding the club firmly in the position which 
it has reached, and then dropping the right hand from the 
grip. He will thus be enabled to look right round, and if he 
then finds that the maker's name on the head of the club is 
horizontal, he will know that he has been doing the right 
thing with his wrists, while if it is vertical the wrist action 
has been altogether wrong. 

During the upward swing the arms should be gradually 




PLATE VI. DRIVER AND BRASSY. THE STANCE 




PLATE VII. DRIVER AND BRASSY. TOP OF THE SWING 




PLATE VIII. DRIVER AND BRASSY. TOP OF THE SWING, FROM BEHIND 




PLATE IX. DRIVER AND BRASSY. FINISH OF THE SWING 



DRIVING— THE SWING OF THE CLUB 67 

let out in the enjoyment of perfect ease and freedom (without 
being spread-eagled away from the body) until at the top of 
the swing the left arm, from the shoulder to the elbow, is 
gently touching the body and hanging well down, while the 
right arm is up above it and almost level with the club. The 
picture indicates exactly what I mean, and a reference to the 
illustration showing what ought not to be the state of affairs 
generally when the top of the swing is reached (Plate XL), 
should convince even the veriest beginner how much less 
comfortable is the position of the arms in this instance than 
when the right thing has been done, and how laden with 
promise is the general attitude of the player in the latter 
position as compared with his cramped state in the former. 
I think I ought to state, partly in justice to myself, and 
partly to persuade my readers that the best way in this case, 
as in all others, is the most natural, that I found it most 
inconvenient and difficult to make such extremely inaccurate 
swings as those depicted in this and other photographs of 
the " How not to do it " series, although they are by no 
means exaggerations of what are seen on the links every 
day, even players of several years* experience being con- 
stantly responsible for them. 

In the upward movement of the club the body must 
pivot from the waist alone, and there must be no swaying 
not even to the extent of an inch. When the player sways 
in his drive the stroke he makes is a body stroke pure and 
simple. The body is trying to do the work the arms should 
do, and in these circumstances it is impossible to get so much 
power into the stroke as if it were properly made, while once 
more the old enemies, the slice and the pull, will come out from 
their hiding-places with their mocking grin at the unhappy 
golfer. 

The movements of the feet and legs are important. In 
addressing the ball you stand with both feet flat and securely 
placed on the ground, the weight equally divided between 
them, and the legs so slightly bent at the knee joints as to 



m THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

make the bending scarcely noticeable. This position is main- 
tained during the upward movement of the club until the 
arms begin to pull at the body. The easiest and most 
natural thing to do then, and the one which suggests itself, is 
to raise the heel of the left foot and begin to pivot on the left 
toe, which allows the arms to proceed with their uplifting 
process without let or hindrance. Do not begin to pivot on 
this left toe ostentatiously, or because you feel you ought to 
do so, but only when you know the time has come and you 
want to, and do it only to such an extent that the club can 
reach the full extent of the swing without any difficulty. 
While this is happening it follows that the weight of the 
body is being gradually thrown on to the right leg, which 
accordingly stiffens until at the top of the swing it is quite 
rigid, the left leg being at the same time in a state of com- 
parative freedom, slightly bent in towards the right, with only 
just enough pressure on the toe to keep it in position. 

To the man who has never driven a good ball in his life 
this process must seem very tedious. All these things to 
attend to, and something less than a second in which to 
attend to them ! It only indicates how much there is in this 
wonderful game — more by far than any of us suspect or 
shall ever discover. But the time comes, and it should come 
speedily, when they are all accomplished without any effort, 
and, indeed, to a great extent, unconsciously. The upward 
swing is everything. If it is bad and faulty, the down- 
ward swing will be wrong and the ball will not be properly 
driven. If it is perfect, there is a splendid prospect of a long 
and straight drive, carrying any hazard that may lie before 
the tee. That is why so very much emphasis must be laid 
on getting this upward swing perfect, and why comparatively 
little attention need be paid to the downward swing, even 
though it is really the effective part of the stroke. 

Be careful not to dwell at the turn of the swing. The 
club has been gaining in speed right up to this point, and 
though I suppose that, theoretically, there is a pause at the 



DRIVING— THE SWING OF THE CLUB 69 

turning-point, lasting for an infinitesimal portion of a second, 
the golfer should scarcely be conscious of it. He must be 
careful to avoid a sudden jerk, but if he dwells at the top of 
the stroke for only a second, or half that short period of time, 
his upward swing in all its perfection will have been com- 
pletely wasted, and his stroke will be made under precisely 
the same circumstances and with exactly the same disad- 
vantages as if the club had been poised in this position at 
the start, and there had been no attempt at swinging of any 
description. In such circumstances a long ball is an impos- 
sibility, and a straight one a matter of exceeding doubt. 
The odds are not very greatly in favour of the ball being 
rolled off the teeing ground. So don't dwell at the turn ; 
come back again with the club. 

The club should gradually gain in speed from the moment 
of the turn until it is in contact with the ball, so that at the 
moment of impact its head is travelling at its fastest pace. 
After the impact, the club head should be allowed to follow 
the ball straight in the line of the flag as far as the arms will 
let it go, and then, having done everything that is possible, it 
swings itself out at the other side of the shoulders. The 
entire movement must be perfectly smooth and rhythmical ; 
in the downward swing, while the club is gaining speed, there 
must not be the semblance of a jerk anywhere such as would 
cause a jump, or a double swing, or what might be called a 
cricket stroke. That, in a few lines, is the whole story of 
the downward swing; but it needs some little elaboration 
of detail. In the first place, avoid the tendency — which is to 
some extent natural — to let the arms go out or away from 
the body as soon as the downward movement begins. When 
they are permitted to do so the club head escapes from its 
proper line, and a fault is committed which cannot be 
remedied before the ball is struck. Knowing by instinct 
that you are outside the proper course, you make a great 
effort at correction, the face of the club is drawn across the 
ball, and there is one more slice. The arms should be kept 



70 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

fairly well in during the latter half of the downward swing, 
both elbows almost grazing the body. If they are properly 
attended to when the club is going up, there is much more 
likelihood of their coming down all right. 

The head is still kept motionless and the body pivots 
easily at the waist ; but when the club is half-way down, the 
left hip is allowed to go forward a little — a preliminary to and 
preparation for the forward movement of the body which is 
soon to begin. The weight is being gradually moved back 
again from the right leg to the left. At the moment of 
impact both feet are equally weighted and are flat on the 
ground, just as they were when the ball was being addressed ; 
indeed, the position of the body, legs, arms, head, and every 
other detail is, or ought to be, exactly the same when the 
ball is being struck as they were when it was addressed, and 
for that reason I refer my readers again to the photograph 
of the address (No. VI.) as the most correct position of 
everything at the moment of striking. After the impact the 
weight is thrown on to the left leg, which stiffens, while the 
right toe pivots and the knee bends just as its partner did in 
the earlier stage of the stroke, but perhaps to a greater 
extent, since there is no longer any need for restraint. 

Now pay attention to the wrists. They should be held 
fairly tightly. If the club is held tightly the wrists will be 
tight, and vice versd. When the wrists are tight there is 
little play in them, and more is demanded of the arms. 
I don't believe in the long ball coming from the wrists. In 
defiance of principles which are accepted in many quarters, 
I will go so far as to say that, except in putting, there is no 
pure wrist shot in golf. Some players attempt to play their 
short approaches with their wrists as they have been told to 
do. These men are likely to remain at long handicaps for a 
long time. Similarly there is a kind of superstition that the 
elect among drivers get in some peculiar kind of " snap " — a 
momentary forward pushing movement — with their wrists 
at the time of impact, and that it is this wrist work at the 



DRIVING-^THE SWING OF THE CLUB 71 

critical period which gives the grand length to their drives, 
those extra twenty or thirty yards which make the stroke 
look so splendid, so uncommon, and which make the next 
shot so much easier. Generally speaking, the wrists when 
held firmly will take very good care of themselves ; but there 
is a tendency, particularly when the two-V grip is used, to 
allow the right hand to take charge of affairs at the time the 
ball is struck, and the result is that the right wrist, as the 
swing is completed, gradually gets on to the top of the shaft 
instead of remaining in its proper place. The consequence 
is a pulled ball, — in fact, this is just the way in which I play 
for a pull. When the fault is committed to a still greater 
extent, the head of the club is suddenly turned over, and then 
the ball is foundered, as we say, — that is, it is struck down- 
wards, and struggles, crippled and done for, a few yards along 
the ground in front of the tee. I find that ladies are particu- 
larly addicted to this very bad habit. Once again I have to 
say that if the club is taken up properly there is the greater 
certainty of its coming down properly, and then if you keep 
both hands evenly to their work there is a great probability 
of a good follow-through being properly effected. 

When the ball has been struck, and the follow-through 
is being accomplished, there are two rules, hitherto held 
sacred, which may at last be broken. With the direction 
and force of the swing your chest is naturally turned round 
until it is facing the flag, and your body now abandons all 
restraint, and to a certain extent throws itself, as it were, 
after the ball. There is a great art in timing this body 
movement exactly. If it takes place the fiftieth part of a 
second too soon the stroke will be entirely ruined ; if it comes 
too late it will be quite ineffectual, and will only result in 
making the golfer feel uneasy and as if something had gone 
wrong. When made at the proper instant it adds a good 
piece of distance to the drive, and that instant, as explained, 
is just when the club is following through. An examination 
of the photograph indicating the finish of the swing (No. IX.) 



n THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

will show how my body has been thrown forward until at 
this stage it is on the outward side of the B line, although 
it was slightly on the other side when the ball was being 
addressed. Secondly, when the ball has gone, and the arms, 
following it, begin to pull, the head, which has so far been 
held perfectly still, is lifted up so as to give freedom to the 
swing, and incidentally it allows the eyes to follow the flight 
of the ball. 

I like to see the arms finish well up with the hands level 
with the head. This generally means a properly hit ball 
and a good follow-through. At the finish of the stroke the 
arms should be as nearly as possible level with each other. 
At the top of the swing the right arm was noticeably above 
the left, but now the former has fallen somewhat. The 
photograph (No. IX.) indicates that the right arm is some 
way below the level of the shaft of the club, whereas it will 
be remembered that on the upward swing it was just level 
with it. Notice also the position of the wrists at the finish 
of the stroke. 

Having thus indicated at such great length the many 
points which go to the making of a good drive, a long one 
and a straight one, yet abounding with ease and grace, allow 
me to show how some of the commonest faults are caused by 
departures from the rules for driving. Take the sliced ball, 
as being the trouble from which the player most frequently 
suffers, and which upon occasion will exasperate him beyond 
measure. When a golfer is slicing badly almost every time, 
it is frequently difficult for him to discover immediately the 
exact source of the trouble, for there are two or three ways 
in which it comes about. The player may be standing too 
near to the ball ; he may be pulling in his arms too suddenly 
as he is swinging on to it, thus drawing the club towards his 
left foot ; or he may be falling on to the ball at the moment 
of impact. When the stance is taken too near to the ball 
there is a great inducement to the arms to take a course 




PLATE X. HOW NOT TO DRIVE 

In this case the player's feet are iiinch too close together, and there is a space between the hands 
as there should never be, zvhatever style of gyip is favoured. Also the right hand is too imtch 
underneath the shaft. The result of the^e faults zvill usually he a pulled ball, but a long drive 
of any sort is impossible. 




PLATE XL HOW NOT TO DRIVE 



In this case the left ivrist instead of being tinderneath the handle is level -with it — a cojujiion 
and dangerous fanlt. Tlie left arm is spreaaeagled o?tt7vard-\ and the toe of the club is not 
pointing dj7vnivn!-ds as it 07igkt to he. The pivoting on the left toe is ver-y imperfect. There is 
no poiver in this p'siiion. Sonieiiiiies the rcsnlt is a pnll, but frequently the ball ivill be foundered. 
No leiigth is possihlc. 




PLATE XII. HOW NOT TO DRIVE 

This is an exaiiifde of a had finish. Instead of being thrown forward after the impact the body 
has fallen azvay. The tistial consequence is a sliced ball, and this is also one of the co7nmonest 
caicses of short driving. 





9y 


«i 









PLATE XIII. HOW NOT TO DRIVl': 

Here cigain tlie body Juis failed to Jbiloiv tlie ball after iiit/act. The stance is Tery bad. the 
forward position of the left foot preventittz a satisfactory follow-throiigk. The ivorst faictt 
committed here, hotuei'er, is the posit/on taken by the left arjii. The elbow is far too loiv. It 
shotdd be at least as high as the right elbow. Result — complete lack of power and length. 



DRIVING— THE SWING OF THE CLUB 73 

too far outwards (in the direction of the A line) in the 
upward swing. The position is cramped, and the player 
does not seem able to get the club round at all comfortably. 
When the club head is brought on to the ball after a swing 
of this kind, the face is drawn right across it, and a slice is 
inevitable. In diagnosing the malady, in cases where the 
too close stance is suspected, it is a good thing to apply the 
test of distance given at the beginning of the previous chapter, 
and see whether, when the club head is resting in position 
against the teed ball, the other end of the shaft just reaches 
to the left knee when it is in position, and has only just so 
much bend in it as it has when the ball is being addressed. 
The second method of committing the slicing sin is self- 
explanatory. As for the third, a player falls on the ball, or 
sways over in the direction of the tee (very slightly, but it is 
the trifles that matter most) when his weight has not been 
properly balanced to start with, and when in the course of 
the swing it has been moved suddenly from one leg to the 
other instead of quite gradually. But sometimes falling on 
the ball is caused purely and simply by swaying the body, 
against which the player has already been warned. When 
the slicing is bad, the methods of the golfer should be tested 
for each of these irregularities, and he should remember that 
an inch difference in any position or movement as he stands 
upon the tee is a great distance, and that two inches is a 
vast space, which the mind trained to calculate in small 
fractions can hardly conceive. 

Pulling is not such a common fault, although one which 
is sometimes very annoying. Generally speaking, a pulled 
ball is a much better one than one which has been sliced, 
and there are some young players who are rather inclined to 
purr with satisfaction when they have pulled, for, though the 
ball is hopelessly off the line, they have committed an error 
which is commoner with those whose hair has grown grey on 
the links than with the beginner whose handicap is reckoned 
by eighteen or twenty strokes. But after all pulling is not 



74 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

an amusement, and even when it is an accomplishment and 
not an accident, it should be most carefully regulated. It is 
the right hand which is usually the offender in this case. 
The wrist is wrong at the moment of impact, and generally 
at the finish of the stroke as well, — that is, it is on the top of 
the club, indicating that the right hand has done most of the 
work. In a case of this sort the top edge of the face of the 
club is usually overlapping the bottom edge, so that the face 
is pointing slightly downwards at the moment of impact ; and 
when this position is brought about with extreme suddenness 
the ball is frequently foundered. If it escapes this fate, then 
it is pulled. A second cause of pulling is a sudden relaxa- 
tion of the grip of the right hand at the time of hitting the 
ball. When this happens, the left hand, being uncontrolled, 
turns over the club head in the same manner as in the first 
case, and the result is the same. 

I have found from experience that it is necessary to 
enjoin even players of some years' standing to make quite 
certain that they are slicing and pulling, before they complain 
about their doing so and try to find cures for it. In a great 
number of cases a player will take his stance in quite the 
wrong direction, either too much round to the right or too 
much to the left, and when the ball has flown truly along the 
line on which it was despatched, the golfer blandly remarks 
that it was a bad slice or a bad pull, as the case may be. He 
must bring himself to understand that a ball is neither sliced 
nor pulled when it continues flying throughout in the direc- 
tion in which it started from the tee. It is only when it 
begins performing evolutions in the air some distance away, 
and taking a half wheel to the right or left, that it has fallen 
a victim to the slice or pull. 

There is one more fault of the drive which must be 
mentioned. It is one of the commonest mistakes that the 
young golfer makes, and pne which afflicts him most keenly, 
for when he makes it his drive is not a drive at all ; all his 
power, or most of it, has been expended on the turf some 



DRIVING— THE SWING OF THE CLUB 75 

inches behind the ball. The right shoulder has been dropped 
too soon or too low. During the address this shoulder is 
necessarily a little below the left one, and care must be taken 
at this stage that it is not allowed to drop more than is 
necessary. At the top of the swing the right shoulder is 
naturally well above the other one, and at the moment of 
impact with the ball it should just have resumed its original 
position slightly below the left. It often happens, however, 
that even very good golfers, after a period of excellent driving, 
through sheer over-confidence or carelessness, will fall into 
the way of dropping the right shoulder too soon, or, when 
they do drop it, letting it go altogether, so that it fairly sinks 
away. The result is exactly what is to be expected. The 
head of the club naturally comes down with the shoulder 
and flops ineffectually upon the turf behind the tee, anything 
from two to nine inches behind the ball. Yet, unless the 
golfer has had various attacks of this sort of thing before, 
he is often puzzled to account for it. The remedy is 
obvious. 

I can imagine that many good golfers, now that I near 
the end of my hints on driving, may feel some sense of 
disappointment because I have not given them a recipe for 
puttjijg thirty or forty yards on to their commonplace drives. 
I can only say that there is no trick or knack in doing it, 
as is often suspected, such as the suggestion, already alluded 
to, that the wrists have a little game of their own just when 
the club head is coming in contact with the ball. The way 
to drive far is to comply with the utmost care with every 
injunction that I have set forth, and then to hit hard but by 
the proper use of the swing. To some golfers this may be 
a dangerous truth, but it must be told : it is accuracy and 
strength which make the long ball. But I seem to hear the 
young player wail, "When I hit hard you say 'Don't press!'" 
A golfer is not pressing when he swings through as fast as 
he can with his club, gaining speed steadily, although he is 
often told that he is. But it most frequently happens that 



76 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

when he tries to get this extra pace all at once, and not as 
the result of gradual improvement and perfection of style, 
that it comes not smoothly but in a great jerk just before 
the ball is reached. This is certainly the way that it comes 
when the golfer is off his game, and he tries, often uncon- 
sciously, to make up in force what he has temporarily lost in 
skill. This really is pressing, and it is this against which I 
must warn every golfer in the same grave manner that he 
has often been warned before. But to the player who, by 
skill and dilligence of practice, increases the smooth and 
even pace of his swing, keeping his legs, body, arms, and 
head in their proper places all the time, I have nothing to 
give but encouragement, though long before this he himself 
will have discovered that he has found out the wonderful, 
delightful secret of the long ball. 

Two chapters of detailed instruction are too much for a 
player to carry in his mind when he goes out on to the links 
to practise drives, and for his benefit I will here make the 
briefest possible summary of what I have already stated. 
Let him attend, then, to the following chief points : — 

Stance. — The player should stand just so far away from 
the ball, that when the face of the driver is laid against it in 
position for striking, the other end of the shaft exactly 
reaches to the left knee when the latter is slightly bent. 
The right foot may be anything up to seven inches in front 
of the left, but certainly never behind it. The left toe should 
be a trifle in advance of the ball. The toes should be turned 
outwards. Make a low tee. 

Grip, — As described. Remember that the palm of the 
right hand presses hard on the left thumb at all times except 
when nearing and at the top of the swing. The grip of the 
thumb and the first two fingers of each hand is constantly 
firm. 

Upward Swing. — The club head must be taken back in 
a straight line for a few inches, and then brought round 
gradually — not too straight up (causing slicing) nor too far 



DRIVING— THE SWING OF THE CLUB 77 

round in the old-fashioned style. The speed of the swing 
increases gradually. The elbows are kept fairly well in, the 
left wrist turning inwards and finishing the upward swing 
well underneath the shaft. The body must not be allowed 
to sway. It should pivot easily from the waist. The head 
must be kept quite still. The weight is gradually thrown 
entirely on to the right leg, the left knee bends inwards, the 
left heel rises, and the toe pivots. There must be no jerk at 
the turn of the swing. 

Downward Swing. — There should be a gradual increase 
of pace, but no jerk anywhere. The arms must be kept well 
down when the club is descending, the elbows almost grazing 
the body. The right wrist should not be allowed to get on 
to the top of the club. The head is still motionless. The 
left hip is allowed to move forward very slightly while the 
club is coming down. The weight of the body is gradually 
transferred from the right leg to the left, the right toe pivot- 
ing after the impact, and the left leg stiffening. The right 
shoulder must be prevented from dropping too much. 
After the impact the arms should be allowed to follow the 
ball and the body to go forward, the latter movement being 
timed very carefully. The head may now be raised. Finish 
with the arms well up — the right arm above the left. 

Slicing, — This may be caused by standing too near to 
the ball, by pulling in the arms, or by falling on the ball. 

Pulling. — Usually caused by the head of the club being 
turned partly over when the ball is struck, or by relaxing the 
grip with the right hand. 

I can only agree with those who have followed me so 
patiently through these two chapters, that to drive a golf 
ball well is a thing not to be learned in a week or a month. 



CHAPTER VII 
BRASSY AND SPOON 

Good strokes with the brassy — Play as with the driver — The points of the brassy 
— The stance — Where and how to hit the ball — Playing from cuppy lies — ^Jab 
strokes from badly-cupped lies — A difficult club to master — The man with 
the spoon — The lie for the bafFy — What it can and cannot do — Character of 
the club — The stance — Tee shots with the baffy — Iron clubs are better. 

WHEN to your caddie you say "Give me my brassy" 
it is a sign that there is serious work to be done — 
as serious and anxious as any that has to be accomplished 
during the six or seven minutes' journey from the tee to 
the hole. Many golfers have a fondness for the brassy 
greater even than for the driver, and the brassy shot when 
well played certainly affords a greater sense of satisfaction 
than the drive — great as is the joy of a good drive — because 
one is conscious of having triumphed over difficulties. When 
the ball is lying very well when it has to be played through 
the green, the driver is naturally taken, but when the lie is 
very low, approaching even to a cuppy character, the brassy 
is called for so that an effort may be made to pick the ball 
up cleanly and despatch it to the full distance. Again, the 
stroke with the brassy must always be a first-class one. 
One that is a little inferior to the best may place the player 
in serious difficulties. On the other hand, the brassy 
seldom flatters its user, though in the hands of a master 
player it is perhaps the club that will gain a stroke for 
him more often than any other, the last bunker being sur- 
mounted and the green reached without any need for a short 
approach with an iron club. Therefore the golfer must 

78 



BRASSY AND SPOON 79 

make up his mind to attain excellence with the brassy, for 
mediocrity with it will always handicap him severely. 

I have already insisted that the method of play, the 
stance, the swing, and all the rest of it, should be the same 
with the brassy as with the driver, and that I do not believe 
in allowing the slightest difference, the only result of which 
can be to increase the difficulty of the brassy shot. Given 
a ball through the green lying fairly well, a level piece of 
earth to stand upon, and a practically unlimited distance to 
be played, then the brassy stroke is absolutely identical with 
the drive, and if the ball is sufficiently well teed, or its lie is 
clean enough, there is no reason whatever why the driver 
should not be taken for the stroke. Obviously, however, as 
the lie which you get for your second shot depends on 
chance, and must be taken as it is found, there are times 
when a variation from the standard method of driving will 
be necessary, and it is to the process of play on these occa- 
sions that I shall chiefly direct my remarks in this chapter. 

First, however, as to the brassy itself. Its shaft should 
be slightly stiffer than that of the driver, for it has much 
harder and rougher work to accomplish, for which the 
whippy stick of a slender driver would be too frail. In a 
desperate case, when the ball is lying in an apparently im- 
possible place, the brassy is sometimes taken, in the hope 
that the best may happen and the situation be saved. That 
is why the brassy has a sole of brass which will cut away 
obstructions behind the ball as the head of the club is swept 
on to it. It often happens that you must hit, as it were, an 
inch or two behind the ball in order to get it up. Therefore 
let the shaft be strong. It should be exactly the same 
length as that of the driver, and not a half inch or an inch 
shorter, as is often recommended. I do not accept any 
argument in favour of the shorter shaft. The golfer having 
driven from the tee needs to be persuaded that he has again 
what is practically a driving shot to make for his second, 
and thus to be imbued with that feeling of experience and 



80 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

confidence which makes for success. When the clubs are of 
the same length there is equal familiarity in using them ; but 
if he is given a shorter club to play his brassy shot with, he 
feels that there is something of a novel nature to be done, 
and he wonders how. The face of the brassy should be a 
little shorter than that of the driver, to permit of its being 
worked into little depressions in which the ball may be 
lying; but this variation of the construction of the head 
should not be carried to excess. Obviously there needs to 
be more loft on the face of the club than on that of the 
driver. 

The stance for the brassy stroke (see Plate VI.) is 
generally the same as for the drive, and for reasons already 
stated my recommendation is that, so far as circumstances 
will permit, — we are not on the teeing ground when we are 
playing the brassy, — it should always be the same. If the 
player feels it to be desirable, he may stand an inch or two 
nearer to the ball, and perhaps as much behind the ball when 
he wishes to get well underneath so as to lift it up. The swing 
should be the same, save that more care should be taken to 
ensure the grip with the hands being quite tight, for as the 
club head comes into contact with the turf before taking the 
ball, the club may turn in the hands and cause a slice or pull 
unless perfect control be kept over it. 

A more important question is, where and how to hit the 
ball. If it is lying fairly well, it is only necessary to skim 
the top of the turf and take it cleanly. There is no necessity 
in such a case, as is too often imagined by inexperienced 
players, to delve down into the turf so that the ball may be 
lifted up. If the stroke is played naturally, in the way I 
have indicated, the loft on the face of the brassy is quite 
sufficient to give the necessary amount of rise to the ball as 
it leaves the club. But if, as so often happens, the ball is 
just a trifle cupped, a different attitude must be adopted 
towards it. It is now desired that the club should come 
down to the turf about an inch behind the ball, and with 



BRASSY AND SPOON 81 

this object in view the eyes should be directed to that point, 
but as in addressing the ball the said point may be covered 
by the head of the club, the sight should be set, not really 
on to the top of the club head, but to an imaginary spot 
just at the side of the ball, so that when the club is drawn 
back the turf and the point to look at come into full view 
and retain the attention of the eyes until the stroke has been 
made. When the club is swung down on to that spot, its 
head will plough through the turf and be well under the ball 
by the time it reaches it, and the desired rise will follow. 
Swing in the same manner as for the drive. The com- 
monest fault in the playing of this stroke comes from the 
instinct of the player to try to scoop out the ball from its 
resting-place, and in obedience to this instinct down goes the 
right shoulder when the club is coming on to the ball. In 
the theory of the beginner this course of procedure may 
seem wise and proper, but he will inevitably be disappointed 
with the result, and in time he will come to realise that all 
attempts to scoop must fail. What the club cannot do in 
the ordinary way when pushed through the turf as I have 
indicated, cannot be done at all, and it is dangerous to the 
stroke and dangerous to one's game to trifle with the grand 
principles. 

When the ball is really badly cupped, a moment must 
be given for inspection and consideration, for the situation is 
an awkward one. At the first glance an iron club is usually 
suggested, but there are many times when the golfer prefers 
to take the brassy if there is a reasonable chance of its prov- 
ing effective. In a case of this sort the ordinary methods 
of brassy play must necessarily be departed from. What 
is wanted is a jabbing-out stroke, and to effect it properly 
the sight must be set (as before) and the club come down on 
a spot almost two inches behind the ball. There must be 
no timidity about hitting the ground or anxiety about the 
follow-through, for in this case the follow-through, as we 
have understood it so far, is next to an impossibility, and 
6 



8^ THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

must not be sought for. In the upward swing the club 
should be taken out straighter than usual, that is to say, the 
club head should be kept more closely to the A line, and 
it should not be carried so far back as if an ordinary shot 
were being played. Obviously the club must be held with 
an absolutely firm grip, and for the proper execution of a 
shot like this the shaft should be exceptionally strong and 
stiff. If there is the least suggestion of whip in it the ball 
is not extricated in the same way, and moreover there is 
sometimes a danger of breaking a slender stick. However, 
if the golfer only carries one brassy in his bag — and the 
average player will seldom carry two — this stroke might as 
well be risked, when the necessity for it arises, with the 
brassy that is carried for all-round work. 

Beyond these few observations there is little more to be 
said about simple brassy play, although it is so difficult to 
master thoroughly, so supremely important to a good game, 
and so full of variety and interest. In the use of no club 
is constant and strenuous practice better rewarded by im- 
provement in play and strokes gained. 

The man with the spoon is coming back again to the 
links, and this seems to be the most convenient opportunity 
for a few remarks on play with this club — the baffy, as it is 
frequently called. One rarely mentions the spoon without 
being reminded of the difficulty as to the nomenclature of 
golf which beset a certain Frenchman on his first intro- 
duction to the game. " They zay to me," he complained, 
" * Will you take ze tee ? ' and I answer, * Ah, oui,' but they 
give me no tea, but make a leetle hill with the sand. Then 
they zay, ' Will you take the spoon ? ' They have give me no 
tea, but no matter. I answer again, * Ah, oui, monsieur,' but 
they give no spoon either. So I give up the thought of 
the tea, and play with the new club that they do give 
to me." However, that is neither here nor there. The 
baffy, or spoon, is a very useful club, which at one time was 
a great favourite with many fine players, and if it has of late 



BRASSY ANB SPOON 83 

years been largely superseded by the cleek, it is still most 
valuable to those players who are not so skilful or reliable 
with this latter instrument as they would like to be. The 
baffy demands, for the achievement of such success as it can 
afford, a fairly good lie, and when this is given it is a toler- 
ably easy club to play with. A good He is essential because 
of its wooden head and long face, which prevent it from 
getting down to the ball when the latter is at all cupped, 
as the cleek would do, or as the brassy may be made to do 
when the jab shot is played. The baffy with its long face 
cannot be burrowed into the turf so easily, nor can it nick 
in between the ball and the side of the cup, but it makes a 
bridge over it, as it were, and thus takes the ball right on 
the top and moves it only a few yards. A cleek would take 
the turf and the ball and make a good hit. Therefore, when 
the lie is not reasonably perfect, the baffy is of little use, 
though in favourable circumstances it is a useful stick. The 
shaft should be slightly longer than that of the cleek, but 
appreciably shorter than that of the brassy, and it should be 
fairly stiff. Its face, as already remarked, is much longer 
than that of the brassy, and it is given several degrees more 
loft. 

The method of play with the spoon is very much the 
same as with the brassy, with only such modifications as are 
apparently necessary. For example, the club being shorter, 
the feet will be placed slightly nearer to the ball; and 
although the baffy calls for a fairly long swing, the player 
will find that he is naturally indisposed to take the club 
head so far round to his back as he was with the other and 
longer wooden clubs. In other respects, the upward and 
downward swing, the grip, the follow-through, and every- 
thing else are the same. With many players the club is a 
particular favourite for the tee shot at short holes of, say, 
140 to 160 yards length with a tolerably high bunker guard- 
ing the green — a type of hole very frequently encountered, 
and which simply calls for steady, sure play to get the 



84 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

bogey 3. The baffy does its work very well in circum- 
stances of this kind, and the ball is brought up fairly 
quickly upon the green ; but the man who is skilled with 
his irons will usually prefer one of them for the stroke, and 
will get the coveted 2 as often as the man with the spoon. 



CHAPTER VIII 
SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS 

The master stroke in golf— Intentional pulling and slicing — The contrariness of 
golf — When pulls and slices are needful — The stance for the slice — The 
upward swing — How the slice is made — The short sliced stroke — Great 
profits that result — Warnings against irregularities — How to pull a ball — 
The way to stand — The work of the right hand — A feature of the address 
— What makes a pull — Effect of wind on the flight of the ball — Greatly 
exaggerated notions — How wind increases the effect of slicing and pulling 
— Playing through a cross wind — The shot for a head wind — A special 
way of hitting the ball — ^A long low flight — When the wind comes from 
behind. 

WHICH is the master stroke in golf? That is an 
engaging question. Is it the perfect drive, with 
every limb, muscle, and organ of the body working in 
splendid harmony with the result of despatching the ball 
well beyond two hundred yards in a straight line from the 
tee? No, it is not that, for there are some thousands of 
players who can drive what is to all intents and purposes a 
perfect ball without any unusual effort. Is it the brassy 
shot which is equal to a splendid drive, and which, de- 
livering the ball in safety over the last hazard, places it 
nicely upon the green, absolving the golfer from the necessity 
of playing any other approach ? No, though that is a most 
creditable achievement. Is it the approach over a threaten- 
ing bunker on to a difficult green where the ball can hardly 
be persuaded to remain, yet so deftly has the cut been 
applied, and so finely has the strength been judged, that it 
stops dead against the hole, and for a certainty a stroke is 
saved ? This is a most satisfying shot which has in its time 



86 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

won innumerable holes, but it is not the master stroke of golf. 
Then, is it the putt from the corner of the green across 
many miniature hills and dales with a winding course over 
which the ball must travel, often far away from the direct 
line, but which carries it at last delightfully to the opening 
into which it sinks just as its strength is ebbing away? We 
all know the thrilling ecstasy that comes from such a stroke 
as this, but it has always been helped by a little good luck, 
and I would not call it the master stroke. There are inferior 
players who are good putters. Which, then, is the master 
stroke ? I say that it is the ball struck by any club to which 
a big pull or slice is intentionally applied for the accomplish- 
ment of a specific purpose which could not be achieved in 
any other way, and nothing more exemplifies the curious 
waywardness of this game of ours than the fact that the 
stroke which is the confounding and torture of the beginner 
who does it constantly, he knows not how, but always to his 
detriment, should later on at times be the most coveted shot 
of all, and should then be the most difficult of accomplish- 
ment. I call it the master shot because, to accomplish it 
with any certainty and perfection, it is so difficult even to 
the experienced golfer, because it calls for the most absolute 
command over the club and every nerve and sinew of the 
body, and the courageous heart of the true sportsman whom 
no difficulty may daunt, and because, when properly done, 
it is a splendid thing to see, and for a certainty results in 
material gain to the man who played it. 

I will try, then, to give the golfers who desire them some 
hints as to how by diligence and practice they may come 
to accomplish these master strokes ; but I would warn them 
not to enter into these deepest intricacies of the game until 
they have completely mastered all ordinary strokes with their 
driver or brassy and can absolutely rely upon them, and even 
then the intentional pull and slice should only be attempted 
when there is no way of accomplishing the purpose which 
is likely to be equally satisfactory. Thus, when a long brassy 



25^2- 







«^ 





PLATE XIV. DRIVER AND BRASSY. STANCE WHEN PLAYING FOR A SLICE 




PLATE XV. DRIVER AND BRASSY. TOP OF THK SWING WHEN FLAVIN! 

FOR A SLICE 




m 





PLATE XVI. DRIVER AND BRASSY. FINISH WHEN PLAYING FOR A SLICE 



SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS 87 

shot to the green is wanted, and one is most completely 
stymied by a formidable tree somewhere in the foreground 
or middle distance, the only way to get to the hole is by 
working round the tree, either from the right or from the 
left, and this can be done respectively by the pull and the 
slice. Of the two, the sliced shot is the easier, and is to be 
recommended when the choice is quite open, though it must 
not be overlooked that the pulled ball is the longer. The 
slicing action is not quite so quick and sudden, and does not 
call for such extremely delicate accuracy as the other, and 
therefore we will deal with it first. 

The golfer should now pay very minute attention to the 
photographs (Nos. XIV., XV., and XVI.) which were specially 
taken to illustrate these observations. It will be noticed at 
once that I am standing very much more behind the ball than 
when making an ordinary straight drive or brassy stroke, and 
this is indeed the governing feature of the slicing shot as far as 
the stance and position of the golfer, preparatory to taking it, 
are concerned. An examination of the position of the feet, 
both in the photograph (XIV.) and the accompanying dia- 
gram, will show that the left toe is now exactly on the B 
line, that is to say, it is just level with the ball, while the 
right foot is 25 J inches away from the same mark, whereas 
in the case of the ordinary drive it was only 19. At the 
same time the right foot has been moved very much nearer 
to the A line, more than 10 inches in fact, although the left 
is only very slightly nearer. Obviously the general effect of 
this change of stance is to move the body slightly round to 
the left. There is no mystery as to how the slice is made. 
It comes simply as the result of the face of the club being 
drawn across the ball at the time of impact, and it was pre- 
cisely in this way that it was accidentally accomplished 
when it was not wanted. In addressing the ball there 
should be just the smallest trifle of extra weight thrown on 
the right leg ; but care must be taken that this difference is not 
exaggerated. The golfer should be scarcely conscious of it. 



88 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

The grip is made in the usual manner, but there is a 
very material and all-important difference in the upward 
swing. In its upward movement the club head now takes a 
line distinctly outside that which is taken in the case of 
the ordinary drive, that is to say, it comes less round the 
body and keeps on the straight line longer. When it is half- 
way up it should be about two or three inches outside the 
course taken for the full straight drive. The object of this 
is plain. The inflexible rule that as the club goes up so will 
it come down, is in operation again. The club takes the same 
line on the return, and after it has struck the ball it natur- 
ally, pursuing its own direction, comes inside the line taken 
in the case of the ordinary drive. The result is that at the 
moment of impact, and for that fractional part of a second 
during which the ball may be supposed to be clinging to the 
club, the face of the driver or brassy is being, as it were, 
drawn across the ball as if cutting a slice out of it. There 
is no means, so far as I know, of gauging how unthinkably 
short is the time during which this slicing process is going 
on, but, as we observed, when we were slicing unintentionally 
and making the ball curl round sometimes to an angle of 
ninety degrees before the finish of its flight, it is quite long 
enough to effect the most radical alteration in what happens 
afterwards. In that short space of time a spinning motion 
is put upon the ball, and a curious impulse which appears to 
have something in common with that given to a boomerang 
is imparted, which sooner or later take effect. In other 
respects, when a distant slice is wanted, the same principles 
of striking the ball and finishing the swing as governed 
the ordinary drive are to be observed. What I mean by a 
distant slice is one in which the ball is not asked to go 
round a corner until it is well on its way, the tree, or what- 
ever it is that has to be circumvented, being half-way out or 
more, as shown in the diagram on opposite page. This is the 
most difficult kind of slice to perform, inasmuch as the ball 
must be kept on a straight line until the object is approached, 



SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS 89 

and then made to curl round it as if by instinct. In such a 
case the club should oe drawn very gradually across, and not 
so much or so suddenly as when the slice is wanted imme- 
diately. 

When the tree or thicket that stymies you is only twenty 
or thirty yards away, the short sliced shot is not only the 
best but perhaps the only one to play, that is to say, if it 
is first-class golf that is being practised and there is an 
opponent who is fighting hard. Take a case for exemplifica- 
tion — one which is of the commonest occurrence. There is 
a long hole to be played, and some thirty yards from the 
point which will be reached by a good drive, but well away 



4- 



A 




TRAJECTORY OF BALL WHEN A DISTANT SLICE IS REQUIRED. 

to the right there is a spinny of tall trees. The golfer is 
badly off the line with his drive, with the result that he now 
has the trees in the direct line between him and the hole 
which is the best part of a hundred yards from the other 
edge of the wood, or say a hundred and forty from where 
the ball is lying. He might by a wonderfully lofted shot 
play the ball over the obstacle, but he would have to rise at 
such an angle that any length would be an impossibility, 
and he would be short of the green. The only alternative 
to the slice would be to accept the loss of a stroke as in- 
evitable, play away to the right or left, and then get on to 
the green with the next one. Thus in either case a valuable 
stroke is lost, and if the enemy is playing the correct game 
the loss may be most serious. The short or quick slice 



90 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

comes to the rescue admirably. Turn the ball round the 
spinny, give it as much length as you can in the circumstances, 
and if the job has been well done you will be on the green 
after all with the highly comforting sensation that for once 
you have proved yourself a golfer of the first degree of skill, 
and have snatched a half when the hole seemed lost. The 
diagram here presented illustrates the best possibilities of a 
quick slice. I can explain in a line exactly how this is done, 
but I cannot guarantee that my readers will therefore be able 
to do it until they have practised, and practised, and practised 
yet again. Instead of hitting the ball with the middle of the 






\ 



mm^m^^mm^^' 



2 \ 



TRAJECTORY OF BALL IN THE CASE OF A QUICK SLICE. 

club face as in playing for the distant slice as already ex- 
plained, hit it slightly nearer the heel of the club. Swing 
upwards in the same way, and finish in the same way, also. 
Taking the ball with the heel results in the slice being put 
on more quickly and in there being more of it, but I need 
hardly observe that the stroke must be perfectly judged and 
played, and that there must be no flaw in it anywhere, or 
disaster must surely follow. As I say, it is not an easy shot 
to accomplish, but it is a splendid thing to do when wanted, 
and I strongly recommend the golfer who has gained pro- 
ficiency in the ordinary way with his wooden clubs, to practise 
it whenever possible until at length he feels some confidence 



r-2I>2^ 







FLATE XVII. DRIVER AND BRASSY. PLAYING FOR A PUl.L. STANCE 



^^m^^^^^-. " " — 


_^ 


■ fli 


-% 




. 




■ 




^ 



FLATE XV 11 1. 



DRIVER AND BRASSY. TOP OF THE SWING WHEN PLAYING 
FOR A PULL 





PLATE XIX. DRIVER AND BRASSY. FINISH WHEN PLAYING FOR A PULL 



SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS 91 

in playing it. It is one of those strokes which mark the 
skilled and resourceful man, and which will win for him 
many a match. Beyond the final admonition to practise, I 
have only one more piece of advice to give to the golfer who 
wants to slice when a slice would be useful, and that is in 
the downward swing he must guard against any inclination 
to pull in the arms too quickly, the result of his consciousness 
that the club has to be drawn across the ball. Whatever is 
necessary in this way comes naturally as the consequence of 
taking the club head more outwards than usual in the upward 
swing. Examine the photographs very carefully in conjunc- 
tion with the study of all the observations that I have made. 
Now there is the pulled ball to consider ; for there are 
times when the making of such a shot is eminently desirable. 
Resort to a slice may be unsatisfactory, or it may be entirely 
impossible, and one important factor in this question is that 
the pulled ball is always much longer than the other, in fact 
it has always so much length in it that many players in 
driving in the ordinary way from the tee, and desiring only 
to go straight down the course, systematically play for a 
pull and make allowances for it in their direction. Now 
examine Plate XVII. and the accompanying diagram illus- 
trating the stance for the pull, and see how very materially 
it differs from those which were adopted for the ordinary 
drive and that in which a slice was asked for. We have 
moved right round to the front of the ball. The right heel 
is on the B line and the toe 4 inches away from it, while the 
left toe is no less than 21 J inches from this line, and there- 
fore so much in front of the ball. At the same time the 
line of the stance shows that the player is turned slightly 
away from the direction in which he proposes to play, the 
left toe being now only 26J inches away from the A line, 
while the right toe is 32 inches distant from it. The obvious 
result of this stance is that the handle of the club is in front 
of the ball, and this circumstance must be accentuated by 
the hands being held even slightly more forward than for an 



92 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

ordinary drive. Now they are held forward in front of the 
head of the club. In the grip there is another point of 
difference. It is necessary that in the making of this stroke 
the right hand should do more work than the left, and there* 
fore the club should be held rather more loosely by the left 
hand than by its partner. The latter will duly take advantage 
of this slackness, and will get in just the little extra work 
that is wanted of it. In the upward swing carry the club 
head just along the line which it would take for an ordinary 
drive. The result of all this arrangement, and particularly 
of the slackness of the left hand and comparative tightness 
of the right, is that there is a tendency in the downward 
swing for the face of the club to turn over to some extent, 
that is, for the top edge of it to be overlapping the bottom 
edge. This is exactly what is wanted, for, in fact, it is quite 
necessary that at the moment of impact the right hand 
should be beginning to turn over in this manner, and if the 
stroke is to be a success the golfer must see that it does 
so, but the movement must be made quite smoothly and 
naturally, for anything in the nature of a jab, such as is 
common when too desperate efforts are made to turn over 
an unwilling club, would certainly prove fatal. It follows 
from what has been happening all the way through, that at 
the finish of the stroke the right hand, which has matters 
pretty well its own way, has assumed final ascendancy and 
is well above the left. Plates XVIII. and XIX. should be 
carefully examined. 

The pulled ball is particularly useful in a cross wind, and 
this fact leads us naturally to a consideration of the ways 
and means of playing the long shot with the wooden club to 
the best advantage when there are winds of various kinds to 
test the resources of the golfer. Now, however, that this 
question is raised, I feel it desirable to say without any 
hesitation that the majority of golfers possess vastly 
exaggerated notions of the effect of strong cross winds on 
the flight of their ball. They greatly overestimate the 



I 



SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS 93 

capabilities of a breeze. To judge by their observations 
on the tlee, one concludes that a wind from the left is often suf- 
ficient to carry the ball away at an angle of forty-five degrees, 
and indeed sometimes, when it does take such an exasperat- 
ing course, and finishes its journey some fifty yards away 
from the point to which it was desired to despatch it, there 
is an impatient exclamation from the disappointed golfer, 
" Confound this wind ! Who on earth can play in a 
hurricane!" or words to that effect. Now I have quite 
satisfied myself that only a very strong wind indeed will 
carry a properly driven ball more than a very few yards out 
of its course, and in proof of this I may say that it is very 
seldom when I have to deal with a cross wind that I do 
anything but play straight at the hole without any pulling 
or slicing or making allowances in any way. If golfers will 
only bring themselves to ignore the wind, then it in turn 
will almost entirely ignore their straight ball. When you 
find your ball at rest the aforementioned forty or fifty 
yards from the point to which you desired to send it, make 
up your mind, however unpleasant it may be to do so, that 
the trouble is due to an unintentional pull or slice, and you 
may get what consolation you can from the fact that the 
slightest of these variations from the ordinary drive is seized 
upon with delight by any wind, and its features exaggerated 
to an enormous extent. It is quite possible, therefore, that a 
slice which would have taken the ball only twenty yards 
from the line when there was no wind, will take it forty yards 
away with the kind assistance of its friend and ally. 

However, I freely admit that there are times when it is 
advisable to play a fancy shot when there is an excess of 
wind, and the golfer must judge according to circumstances. 
Let me give him this piece of advice: very rarely slice as 
a remedy against a cross wind. Either pull or nothing. If 
there is a strong wind coming from the right, the immature 
golfer who has been practising slices argues that this is his 
chance, and that it is his obvious duty to slice his ball right 



94 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

into the teeth of that wind, so that wind and slice will 
neutralise each other, and the ball as the result will pursue 
an even course in the straight line for the flag. A few trials 
will prove to him that this is a very unsatisfactory business, 
and after he has convinced himself about it I would 
recommend him to try pulling the ball and despatching it 
at once along a line to the right directly against that same 
wind. When the pull begins to operate, both this and the 
wind will be working together, and the ball will be carried 
a much greater length, its straightness depending upon the 
accuracy of allowance. The diagram explains my meaning. 



' i .-- -l! i 

i / 

METHOD AND EFFECT OF PULLING INTO A CROSS WIND FROM THE RIGHT. 

But I reiterate that the ordinary shots are generally the 
easiest and best with which to get to the hole. The prin- 
ciple of the golfer should be, and I trust is, that he always 
wants to reach the hole in the simplest and easiest way, 
with a minimum of doubt and anxiety about any shot which 
he is called upon to play, and one usually finds that without 
these fancy shots one comes to the flag as easily as is pos- 
sible in all the circumstances. Of course I am writing more 
particularly with the wind in mind, and am not recommending 
the ordinary shot when there is a tree or a spinny for a stymie, 
in contradiction to what I have said earlier in this chapter. 



SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS 95 

However, there is one kind of wind difficulty which it is 
certainly necessary to deal with by a departure from the 
ordinary method of play with the driver or the brassy, and 
that is when the wind is blowing straight up to the player 
from the hole, threatening to cut off all his distance. Unless 
measures are taken to prevent it, a head wind of this descrip- 
tion certainly does make play extremely difficult, the com- 
parative shortness of the drive making an unduly long 
approach shot necessary, or even demanding an extra stroke 
at long holes in order to reach the green. But, fortunately, 
we have discovered a means of dealing very satisfactorily 
with these cases. What we want to do is to keep the ball as 
low down as possible so as to cheat the wind, for the lower 
the ball the less opportunity has the breeze of getting to 
work upon it. A combination of two or three methods is 
found to be the best for obtaining this low turf-skimming ball, 
which yet has sufficient driving power in it to keep up until 
it has achieved a good length. Evidently the first thing to 
do is to make the tee — if it is a tee shot — rather lower than 
usual — as low as is consistent with safety and a clean stroke. 
The player should then stand rather more in front of the 
ball than if he were playing for an ordinary drive, but this 
forward position should not by any means be so marked as 
it was in the stance for the pulled drive. A reference to 
Plate XX. and the diagram will show that now we have 
the ball exactly half-way between the toes, each toe being 
twelve inches to the side of the B line, while both are an 
inch nearer to the ball than was the case when the ordinary 
drive was being made. But the most important departure 
that we make from the usual method of play is in the way we 
hit the ball. So far we have invariably been keeping our gaze 
fixed on a point just behind it, desiring that the club shall 
graze the ground and take the ball rather below the centre. 
But now it is necessary that the ball shall be struck half-way 
up and before the club touches the turf. Therefore keep the 
eye steadily fixed upon that point (see the right-hand ball in 



96 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

the small diagram on page 170) and come down exactly on it. 
This is not an easy thing to do at first ; it requires a vast 
amount of practice to make sure of hitting the ball exactly 
at the spot indicated, but the stroke when properly made is 
an excellent and most satisfying one. After striking the 
ball in this way, the club head should continue its descent for 
an instant so that it grazes the turf for the first time two or 
three inches in front of the spot where the ball was. The 
passage of the club through the ball, as it were, is the same 
as in the case of the push shot with the cleek, and therefore 
reference may usefully be made to the diagram on page 106, 
which illustrates it. A natural result of the stance and the 
way the stroke is played is that the arms are more extended 
than usual after the impact, and in the follow-through the 
club head keeps nearer to the turf. So excellent are the 
results obtained when the stroke is properly played, that 
there are many fine players, having a complete command 
over it, who systematically play it from the tee whether there 
is a wind to contend against or not, simply because of the 
length and accuracy which they secure from it. Braid is one 
of them. If the teeing ground offers any choice of gradient, 
a tee with a hanging lie should be selected, and the ball is 
then kept so low for the first forty or fifty yards that it is 
practically impossible for the wind to take it off the line, for 
it must be remembered that even when the wind comes dead 
from the front, if there is the slightest slice or pull on the 
ball to start with, it will be increased to a disconcerting extent 
before the breeze has done with it. 

When the wind is at the back of the player blowing hard 
towards the hole, the situation presents no difficulty and 
needs very little consideration. The object in this case is to 
lift the ball well up towards the clouds so that it may get 
the full benefit of the wind, though care must be taken that 
plenty of driving length is put into the stroke at the same 
time. Therefore tee the ball rather higher than usual, and 
bring your left foot more in a line with it than you would 




PLAJE XX. DRIVER AND BRASSY. STANCE FOR A LOW BALL AGAINST 

THE WIND 



t 




PLATE XXI. DRIVER AND BRASSY. STANCE FOR A HIGH BALL WITH 

THE WIND 



i 



SPECIAL STROKES WITH WOODEN CLUBS 97 

if you were playing in the absence of wind, at the same 
time moving both feet slightly nearer the ball. Plate XXI. 
will make the details of this stance quite clear. The ball 
being teed unusually high, the golfer must be careful not to 
make any unconscious allowance for the fact in his downward 
swing, and must see that he wipes the tee from the face of 
the earth when he makes the stroke. 

Though in my explanations of these various strokes I 
have generally confined myself to observations as to how 
they may be made from the tee, they are strokes for the 
driver and the brassy, — for all cases, that is, where the long 
ball is wanted fro;n the wooden club under unusual circum- 
stances of difficulty. Evidently in many cases they will be 
more difficult to accomplish satisfactorily from a brassy lie 
and with the shorter faced club than when the golfer has 
everything in his favour on the teeing ground, and it must 
be left to his skill and discretion as to the use he will make 
of them when playing through the green. 



CHAPTER IX 
THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 

A test of the golfer — The versatility of the cleek — Different kinds of cleeks — 
Points of the driving mashie — Difficulty of continued success with it — 
The cleek is more reliable — Ribbed faces for iron clubs — To prevent 
skidding — The stance for an ordinary cleek shot — The swing — Keeping 
control over the right shoulder — Advantages of the three-quarter cleek shot 
— The push shot — My favourite stroke — The stance and the swing — -The 
way to hit the ball — Peculiar advantages of flight from the push stroke — 
When it should not be attempted — The advantage of short swings as against 
full swings with iron clubs — Playing for a low ball against the wind — A 
particular stance — Comparisons of the different cleek shots — General obser- 
vations and recommendations — Mistakes made with the cleek. 

IT is high time we came to consider the iron clubs that 
are in our bag. His play with the irons is a fine test of 
the golfer. It calls for extreme skill and delicacy, and the 
man who is surest with these implements is generally surest 
of his match. The fathers of golf had no clubs with metal 
heads, and for a long time after they came into use there was 
a lingering prejudice against them ; but in these days there is 
no man so bold as to say that any long hole can always be 
played so well with wood all through as with a mixture of 
wood and iron in the proper proportions. It may be, as we 
are often told, that the last improvement in iron clubs has 
not yet been made ; but I must confess that the tools now at 
the disposal of the golfer come as near to my ideal of the 
best for their purpose as I can imagine any tools to do, and 
no golfer is at liberty to blame the clubmaker for his own 
incapacity on the links, though it may frequently happen 
that his choice and taste in the matter of his golfing goods 



I 



THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 99 

are at fault. There are many varieties of every class of iron 
clubs, and their gradations of weight, of shape, of loft, and of 
all their other features, are delicate almost to the point of in- 
visibility ; but the old golfer who has an affection for a favourite 
club knows when another which he handles differs from it to 
the extent of a single point in these gradations. Some 
golfers have spent a lifetime in the search for a complete set 
of irons, each one of which was exactly its owner's ideal, and 
have died with their task still unaccomplished. Happy then 
is the player who in his early days has irons over all of which 
he has obtained complete mastery, and which he can rely 
upon to do their duty, and do it well, when the match is keen 
and their owner is sorely pressed by a relentless opponent. 

First of these iron clubs give me the cleek, the most 
powerful and generally useful of them all, though one which 
is much abused and often called hard names. If you wish, 
you may drive a very long ball with a cleek, and if the spirit 
moves you so to do you may wind up the play at the hole by 
putting with it too. But these after all are what I may call 
its unofficial uses, for the club has its own particular duties, 
and for the performance of them there is no adequate substi- 
tute. Therefore, when a golfer says, as misguided golfers 
sometimes do, that he cannot play with the cleek, that he 
gets equal or superior results with other clubs, and that 
therefore he has abandoned it to permanent seclusion in the 
locker, you may shake your head at him, for he is only 
deceiving himself. Like the wares of boastful advertisers, 
there is no other which is "just as good," and if a golfer finds 
that he can do no business with his cleek, the sooner he learns 
to do it the better will it be for his game. 

And there are many different kinds of cleeks, the choice 
from which is to a large extent to be regulated by experi- 
ment and individual fancy. Some men fancy one type, and 
some another, and each of them obtains approximately the 
same result from his own selection, but it is natural that 
a driving cleek, which is specially designed for obtaining 



100 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

length, having a fairly straight face and plenty of weight, 
will generally deliver the ball further than those which are 
more lofted and lighter. Making a broad classification, 
there are driving cleeks, ordinary cleeks, pitching cleeks, 
and cleeks with the weight in the centre. For the last- 
named variety I have little admiration, excellent as many 
people consider them to be. If the ball is hit with absolute 
accuracy in the centre of the club's face every time, all is 
well ; but it is not given to many golfers to be so marvellously 
certain. Let the point of contact be the least degree re- 
moved from the centre of the face, where the weight is 
massed, and the result will usually be disquieting, for, among 
other things, there is in such cases a great liability for the 
club to turn in the hands of the player. 

As an alternative to the cleek the driving mashie has 
achieved considerable popularity. It is undoubtedly a most 
useful club, and is employed for the same class of work as 
the cleek, and, generally speaking, may take its place. The 
distinctive features of the driving mashie are that it has a 
deeper face than that of the cleek, and that this depth 
increases somewhat more rapidly from the heel to the toe. 
By reason of this extra depth it is often a somewhat heavier 
club, and there is rather less loft on it than there is on the 
average cleek. When you merely look at a driving mashie 
it certainly seems as if it may be the easier club to use, but 
long experience will prove that this is not the case. In this 
respect I think the driving cleek is preferable to either the 
spoon or the driving mashie, particularly when straightness 
is an essential, as it usually is when any of these clubs is 
being handled. It frequently happens that the driving 
mashie is used to very good effect for a while after it has 
first been purchased ; but I have noticed over and over again 
that when once you are off your play with it — and that time 
must come, as with all other clubs — it takes a long time to 
get back to form with it again, — so long, indeed, that the 
task is a most painful and depressing one. Five years ago I 



I 



THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 101 

myself had my day with the driving mashie, and I played so 
well with it that at that time I did not even carry a cleek. 
I used to drive such a long ball with this instrument, that 
when I took it out of my bag to play with it, my brother 
professionals used to say, "There's Harry with his driver 
again " ; and I remember that when on one occasion Andrew 
Kirkaldy was informed that I was playing a driving mashie 
shot, he was indignant, and exclaimed, " Mashie ! Nay, 
man, thon's no mashie. It's jest a driver." Then the day 
came when I found to my sorrow that I was off my driving 
mashie, and not all the most laborious practice or the fiercest 
determination to recover my lost form with it was rewarded 
with any appreciable amount of success. After a time I got 
back to playing it in some sort of fashion, but I was never 
so good with it again as to justify me in sticking to it in 
preference to the cleek, so since then I have practically 
abandoned it. This, I am led to believe, is a fairly common 
experience among golfers, so the moral would seem to be, 
that you should make the most of your good days with the 
driving mashie, that at the first sign of decaying power with 
the club another and most thorough trial should be given to 
the deserted cleek, and that at this crisis that club should be 
persevered with in preference to the tool which has failed. 
The driving mashie usually demands a good lie if it is to be 
played with any amount of success. When, in addition to 
the lie being cuppy, the turf is at all soft and spongy — and 
these two circumstances are frequently combined — the ball 
very often skids off the face of the club, chiefly because of 
its perpendicularity, instead of rising nicely from the moment 
of impact as it would do when carefully played by a suitable 
cleek. Of course if the turf is firm there is much greater 
chance of success with the driving mashie than if it is loose. 
But one finds by long experience that the cleek is the best 
and most reliable club for use in all these difficult circum- 
stances. Even the driving cleeks have a certain amount of 
loft on their faces which enables them to get nicely under 



102 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

the ball, so that it rises with just sufficient quickness after 
being struck. And there is far less skidding with the cleek. 
This question of skidding calls to mind another feature 
of iron clubs generally, and those which are designed for 
power and length in particular, which has not in the past 
received all the consideration that it deserves. I am about 
to speak of the decided advantage which in my opinion 
accrues from the use of iron clubs with ribbed faces in 
preference to those which are smooth and plain. Some 
golfers of the sceptical sort have a notion that the ribs or 
other marking are merely ornamental, or, at the best, give 
some satisfaction to the fancy ; but these are certainly not 
their limits. The counteraction to skidding by the ribbed 
face is undoubtedly very great, and there are certain cir- 
cumstances in which I consider it to be quite invaluable. 
Suppose the ball is lying fairly low in grass. It is clear to 
the player that his iron club, as it approaches it, will be 
called upon to force its way through some of the grass, 
and that as it comes into contact with the ball many green 
blades will inevitably be crushed between the face of the 
club and the ball, with the result, in the case of the plain- 
faced club, that further progress in the matter of the follow- 
through will be to some extent impeded. But when the 
face of the club is ribbed, at the instant of contact between 
ball and club the grass that comes between is cut through 
by the ribs, and thus there is less waste of the power of the 
swing. The difference may be only small ; but whether it is 
an ounce or two or merely a few pennyweights, it is the 
trifle of this kind that tells. And, of course, the tendency to 
skid is greater than ever when the grass through the green, 
or where the ball has to be played from, is not so short as it 
ought to be, and the value of the ribbed face is correspond- 
ingly increased. 

Now we may examine the peculiarities of play with the 
cleek, the term for the remainder of this chapter being taken 
to include the driving mashie. It will be found that the 



I 



«_ ^-^ — . 


A 


^ 


''0 






PLATE XXn. FULL SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. STANCE 




PLATE XXIII. FUl-L SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. TOP OF THE SWING 





PLATE XXIV. FULL SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. FINISH 




'^'W ■ 




PLATE XXV. FULL SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. FINISH 



I 



» 



THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 103 

shaft of the cleek is usually some two to four inches shorter 
than the driver, and this circumstance in itself is sufficient to 
demand a considerable modification in the stance and method 
of use. I now invite the reader to examine the photograph 
and diagram of the ordinary cleek shot (Plate XXII.), and 
to compare it when necessary with Plate VI., representing the 
stance for the drive. It will be found that the right foot is 
only 21 J inches from the A line as against 27 J when driv- 
ing, and the left toe is only 24 inches from it as compared 
with 34. From this it appears that the left foot has been 
brought more forward into line with the right, but it is still 
behind it, and it is essential that it should be so, in order 
that the arms may be allowed a free passage through after 
the stroke. The feet remain about the same distance apart, 
but it should be noticed that the whole body has been moved 
forward some four inches in relation to the ball, the distances 
of the right and left toes from the B line being respectively 
19 and g^ inches in the case of the drive and 15 and 12 in 
that of the cleek shot. The stance in the case of all iron 
clubs should be studied with great care, for a half inch the 
wrong way seems to have a much greater power for evil 
than it does in the case of wooden clubs. 

The handle of the cleek is gripped in the same manner 
as the driver, but perhaps a little more tightly, for, as the 
club comes severely into contact with the turf, one must 
guard against the possibility of its turning in the hands. 
Ground the club behind the ball exactly in the place and in 
the way that you intend to hit it. There is a considerable 
similarity between the swings with the driver and the cleek. 
Great care must be taken when making the backward swing 
that the body is not lifted upwards, as there is a tendency 
for it to be. When pivoting on the left toe, the body should 
bend slightly and turn from the waist, the head being kept 
perfectly still. Thus it comes about that the golfer's system 
appears to be working in three independent sections — first 
from the feet to the hips, next from the hips to the neck, 



104 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

and then the head. The result of this combination of 
movements is that at the top of the swing, when every- 
thing has happened as it should do, the eyes will be looking 
over the top of the left shoulder — ^just as when at the top 
of driving swing. The body should not be an inch higher 
than when the address was made, and the right leg will 
now be straight and stiff. When the club is held tightly, 
there will be practically no danger of overswinging ; but, as 
with the drive, the pressure with the palms of the hands may 
be a little relaxed at the top. The backward swing must 
not be so rapid that control of the club is in any degree lost, 
and once again the player must be warned against allowing 
any pause at the top. In coming down the cleek should 
gain its speed gradually, so that at the time of impact it is 
travelling at its fastest pace, and then, if the toes are right and 
the shoulders doing their duty, the follow-through will almost 
certainly be performed properly. The right shoulder must 
be carefully watched lest it drops too much or too quickly. 
The club must, as it were, be in front of it all the way. If 
the shoulder gets in front, a sclaffed ball is almost sure to be 
the result, the club coming into contact with the turf much 
too soon. If the stroke is finished correctly, the body will 
then be facing the flag. 

So much, for the time being, for the full shot with the 
cleek. Personally, however, I do not favour a really full shot 
either with the cleek or any other iron club. When the limit 
of capability is demanded with this or most other iron clubs 
in the bag, it is time to consider whether a wooden instrument 
should not be employed. Therefore I very seldom play the 
full cleek shot, but limit myself to one which may be said to 
be slightly above the three-quarters. This is usually quite 
sufficient for all purposes of length, and it is easier with this 
limit of swing to keep the wrists and the club generally 
more under control. Little more can be said by way of 
printed instruction regarding the ordinary cleek shot, which 
is called for when the distance to be played falls short of a 



THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 105 

full brassy, or, on the other hand, when the lie is of too cuppy 
a character to render the use of the brassy possible with 
any amount of safety. 

Many players, however, who are young in experience, and 
some who are older too, seem to imagine that the simplest 
stroke, as just described, is the limit of the resources of the 
cleek, and never give it credit for the versatility which it 
undoubtedly possesses. There is another shot with the 
cleek which is more difficult than that we have just been 
discussing, one which it will take many weeks of arduous 
practice to master, but which, in my opinion, is one of the 
most valuable and telling shots in golf, and that is the push 
which is a half shot. Of all the strokes that I like to play, this 
is my favourite. It is a half shot, but as a matter of fact 
almost as much length can be obtained with it as in any 
other way. It is a somewhat peculiar shot, and must be 
played very exactly. In the first place, either a shorter 
cleek (about two inches shorter, and preferably with a little 
more loft than the driving cleek possesses) should be used, 
or the other one must be gripped lower down the handle. A 
glance at Plate XXVI. and the diagram in the corner will 
show that the stance is taken much nearer to the ball than 
when an ordinary cleek shot was being played, that parti- 
cularly the right foot is nearer, and that the body and feet 
have again been moved a trifle to the left. Moreover, it is 
recommended that in the address the hands should be held 
a little more forward than usual. In this half shot the club 
is not swung so far back, nor is the follow-through con- 
tinued so far at the finish. To make a complete success of 
this stroke, the ball must be hit in much the same manner as 
when a low ball was wanted in driving against the wind. 
In playing an ordinary cleek shot, the turf is grazed before 
the ball in the usual manner; but to make this half or 
push shot perfectly, the sight should be directed to the 
centre of the ball, and the club should be brought directly 
on to it (exactly on the spot marked on the diagram on 



106 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

page 170). In this way the turf should be grazed for the 
first time an inch or two on the far side of the ball. The 
diagram on this page shows the passage of the club through 
the ball, as it were, exactly. Then not only is the ball kept 
low, but certain peculiarities are imparted to its flight, which 
are of the utmost value when a half shot with the cleek 
is called for. Not only may the ball be depended upon 
never to rise above a certain height, but, having reached its 
highest point, it seems to come down very quickly, travelling 
but a few yards more, and having very little run on it 
when it reaches the turf again. When this shot is once 
mastered, it will be found that these are very valuable 
peculiarities, for a long approach shot can be gauged with 
splendid accuracy. The ball is sent forwards and upwards 
until it is almost overhanging the green, and then down it 
comes close to the pin. I admit that when the ball is hit 
in this way the shot is made rather difficult — though not so 

difficult as it looks — and, of 

course, it is not absolutely 

_______ imperative that this method 

THE PUSH SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. ghould be folloWCd. SomC 

good players make the stroke in the same way as the 
full shot, so far as hitting the ball is concerned, but in 
doing so they certainly lose the advantages I have pointed 
out, and stand less chance of scoring through a finely placed 
ball. I may remark that personally I play not only my 
half cleek stroke but all my cleek strokes in this way, so 
much am I devote^ to the qualities of flight which are 
thereby imparted to the ball, and though I do not insist 
that others should do likewise in all cases, I am certainly of 
opinion that they are missing something when they do not 
learn to play the half shot in this manner. The greatest 
danger they have to fear is that in their too conscious 
efforts to keep the club clear of the ground until after the 
impact, they will overdo it and simply top the ball, when, 
of course, there will be no flight at all. I suggest that when 




^ 



1 



'^**r^<,»- 




FLAT£ XXVI. THE PUSH SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. STANCE 



^'^iM»»i^i»^'-h^' 






PLATE XXVII, THE PUSH SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. TOP OF THE SWING 



i 



/-• 



p 




PLATE XXVIII. THE PUSH SHOT WITH THE CLEEK. FINISH 



■0. 



% 



I? 



mM 



#^w« 




.M..ILI 



PLATE XXIX. A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND) WITH THE CLEEK. STANCE 




PLATE XXX. A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND) WITH THE CLtEK. 
TOP OF THE SWING 




PLATE XXXI. A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND) WITH THE CLEEK. FINISH 



THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 107 

this stroke is being practised a close watch should be kept 
over the forearms and wrists, from which most of the work 
is wanted. The arms should be kept well in, and the 
wrists should be very tight and firm. It should be pointed 
out that there are some circumstances in which it is not safe 
to attempt to play this stroke. When the club comes to the 
ground after impact with the ball, very little turf should 
be taken. It is enough if the grass is shaved well down 
to the roots. But if the turf is soft and yielding, the club 
head will have an inevitable tendency to burrow, with the 
result that it would be next to impossible to follow-through 
properly with the stroke, and that the ball would skid 
off, generally to the right. The shot is therefore played 
to greatest advantage on a hard and fairly dry course. 

Many people are inclined to ask why, instead of playing 
a half shot with the cleek, the iron is not taken and a full 
stroke made with it, which is the way that a large pro- 
portion of good golfers would employ for reaching the 
green from the same distance. For some reason which 
I cannot explain, there seems to be an enormous number 
of players who prefer a full shot with any club to a half 
shot with another, the result being the same or practically 
so. Why is it that they like to swing so much and waste so 
much power, unmindful of the fact that the shorter the 
swing the greater the accuracy ? The principle of my own 
game, and that which I always impress upon others when 
I have an opportunity, is, " Reach the hole in the easiest 
way you can." The easier way is generally the surer way. 
When, therefore, there is a choice between a full shot with 
one club or a half shot with another, I invariably ask the 
caddie for the instrument with which to make the half shot. 
Hence, apart from the advantageous peculiarities of the 
stroke which I have pointed out, I should always play the 
half cleek shot in preference to the full iron, because, to my 
mind, it is easier and safer, and because there is less danger 
of the ball skidding off the club. In the same way I prefer 



108 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

a half iron shot to a full one with the mashie. If the golfer 
attains any proficiency with the stroke, he will probably 
be very much enamoured of it, and will think it well worth 
the trouble of carrying a club specially for the purpose, at 
all events on all important occasions. 

There is another variety of cleek shot which calls for 
separate mention. It is played when a low ball is wanted 
to cut its way through a head wind, and for the proper 
explanation of this useful stroke I have supplied a special 
series of photographs from which it may be studied to 
advantage. As will be seen from them, this stroke is, to 
all intents and purposes, a modified half or push stroke, the 
most essential difference being in the stance. The feet are 
a trifle nearer the ball and considerably more forward, my 
right heel as a matter of fact being only 2 J inches from the 
B line. Take a half swing, hit the ball before the turf 
as in the case of the push, and finish with the shaft of the 
club almost perpendicular, the arms and wrists being held in 
severe subjection throughout. The ball skims ahead low 
down like a swallow, and by the time it begins to rise and 
the wind to act upon it, it has almost reached its destination, 
and the wind is now welcome as a brake. 

Having thus dealt with these different cleek shots 
separately, I think some useful instruction may be obtained 
from a comparison of them, noting the points of difference 
as they are set forth in the photographs. An examination 
of the pictures will at once suggest that there is much more 
in the stance than had been suspected. In the case of the 
full cleek shot it is noticeable that the stance is opener than 
in any of the others, and that the body is more erect. The 
object of this is to allow freedom of the swing without 
altering the position of the body during the upward move- 
ment. I mean particularly that the head is not so likely 
to get out of its place as it would be if the body had been 
more bent while the address was being made. It ought not 
to be, but is the case, that when pivoting on the left foot 



THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 109 

during the progress of a long upward swing, there is a 
frequent inclination, as already pointed out, to raise the 
body, so that the position of the latter at the top of the 
swing is altogether wrong, and has to be corrected in the 
downward swing before the ball is reached. When, as often 
happens, this is done too suddenly, a sclaff is the result. 
Therefore an obvious recommendation is to stand at the 
ball with the same amount of erectness as there will be at 
the top of the swing. And remember that when you pivot 
on the left toe, the lift that there is here should not spread 
along to the head and shoulders, but should be absorbed, 
as it were, at the waist, which should bend inwards and 
turn round on the hips. Once the head has taken its 
position, it should never move again until the ball has been 
struck. Mind that you do not fall away from the ball when 
the club is about to come into contact with it. I have 
observed a considerable tendency in that direction on the 
part of many young players. I have pressed several of 
these points home in other places, but the success of the 
stroke is so bound up with a proper observation of them 
that I think they cannot be too frequently or too strongly 
insisted upon. 

If we take one more glance at all the different cleek 
stroke photographs, we shall see that in each case the toes 
are turned well outwards. I find that unless they take this 
position the player has not the same freedom for turning 
upon them. In the case of full shots the weight is more 
evenly divided upon both feet than in the case of others. 
Thus, when the stance for a half or three-quarter cleek shot 
is taken, the weight of the body falls more on the right leg 
than on the left. As you have not to swing so far back, you 
are able to maintain this position. You could not do so if a 
full stroke were being taken ; hence you would not then adopt 
it. Again, one allows the wrists and muscles less play in the 
case of half shots than in full ones. There is more stiffness 
all lound. This, however, must not be taken to suggest 



110 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

that even in the case of the full shot there is any looseness 
at the wrists. If there were, it would be most in evidence 
just when it would be most fatal, that is to say, at the 
moment of impact. The wrists must always be kept 
severely under control. It will also be noticed from the 
photographs, that at the top of the swings for both the full 
shot and the half shot the body is in much the same position, 
but when the low shot against the wind is being played it is 
pushed a little forward. I mention these details by way of 
suggesting how much can be discovered from a close and 
attentive study of these photographs only. Little things 
like these, when not noticed and attended to, may bother a 
player for many weeks ; while, on the other hand, he may 
frequently find out from a scrutiny of the pictures and 
diagrams the faults which have baffled him on the links. 
In this connection the " How not to do it " photographs 
should be of particular value to the player who is in trouble 
with his cleek. Look at the faulty stance and address in 
Plate XXXII. At the first glance you can see that this is 
not a natural stance; the player is cramped and uncom- 
fortable. The grip is altogether wrong. The hands are 
too far apart, and the right hand is too much under the 
shaft. The body would not hold its position during the 
swing, and in any case a correct swing would be impossible. 
Yet this photograph does not exaggerate the bad methods 
of some players. In Plate XXXIII. we have the player in 
a stance which is nearly as bad as before ; but it is evident 
that in this case the body has been lifted during the upward 
swing, and the left hand is rather too much on the top of 
the shaft. 

Evidently it will take some time to bring the cleek 
completely into subjection. There is, of course, no such 
thing as an all-round club in golf, but the nearest to it is 
this one, and the man who is master of it is rarely in a 
serious difficulty. He can even play a respectable round 
with a cleek alone, and there is no form of practice less 



I 




PLATE XXXII. FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK 

The stance in this case is very bad. The whole of the weight is on the left leg instead of being 
evenly divided. The hands are too far apart, and the right hand is far too miich -underneath the 
shaft. Moreover the player is bending too far towa/rds his hall. He jmist stand up to his work. 
The almost certain consequence of this attitiide is a foozle. 




"^'^o^mtmmi^/M^ 



PLATE XXXI II. FAULTY TLAY WITH THE CLEEK 

ho^^:Z;"::^V^fl:lTr^^^!^^^f'''^!'' f ':'?^ ^^^ ^^.^/.^ mre, n is eviaent that 

mem 

the 

player is Ulcely to strike anything; except 




PLATE XXXIV. FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK 

Here at the finish of the stroke the position, of the arms is exceedingly bad. They arc Lent and 
h^iddledtip towards the body, plainly indicating that they did not go throjtgh ivith the ball. There 
7vas no power in this stroke, nothing to send the ball along. Therefore length was ivtposs ble. ami 
a foozle was quite likely. Compare with XXI V. 




PLATE XXXV. FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK 

The mistakes here are nitvierous, hit less pronounced than before. The statue is not accurate., 
hut it is not bad eno7tgh to be fatal in itself. The player is I'ery itncoinfortable ivith his left arm, 
which is in a badly cramped position. The hands are too far apart and the hft 7vrist is too high. 
The result is rather donotful. Qmte possibly the ball ivill be pulled. Anyhow a good shot is out 
of the question. 




•;5**-fiPSSS!iMiii^-, 



PLATE XXXVI. FAULTY PLAY WITH THE CLEEK 

In the case of this finish the player has fallen away from the ball instead of going fonvard 
Tvith it as in XXIV, It is evict ent that the club has been drawn across the ball. Result — a slice. 



THE CLEEK AND DRIVING MASHIE 111 

wearisome, more diverting, or more eminently valuable and 
instructive, than that which is to be obtained on a fine 
afternoon by taking out the cleek and doing a round of 
the course with it from the tee to the hole in every case, 
and making use of all the different strokes that I have 
described in the course of this chapter. 



CHAPTER X 
PLAY WITH THE IRON 

The average player's favourite club — Fine work for the iron — Its points — The 
right and the wrong time for play with it — Stance measurements — A 
warning concerning the address — The cause of much bad play with the 
iron — The swing — Half shots with the iron — The regulation of power — 
Features of erratic play — Forced and checked swings — Common causes of 
duffed strokes — Swings that are worthless. 

WHEN I mention that useful iron -headed club that 
goes by the simple name of iron, I am conscious 
that I bring forward a subject that is dear to the hearts 
of many golfers who have not yet come to play with 
certainty with all their instruments. For the iron is often 
the golfer's favourite club, and it has won this place of 
affection in his mind because it has been found in the 
course of long experience that it plays him fewer tricks 
than any of the others — that it is more dependable. This 
may be to some extent because with the average golfer 
such fine work is seldom required from the simple iron as is 
wanted from other clubs from time to time. The distance 
to be covered is always well within the capabilities of the 
club, or it would not be employed, and the average golfer of 
whom we speak, who has still a handicap of several strokes, 
is usually tolerably well satisfied if with it he places the ball 
anywhere on the green, from which point he will be enabled 
to hole out in the additional regulation two strokes. And 
the green is often enough a large place, so the iron is 
fortunate in its task. But it goes without saying that by 
those who have the skill for it, and sufficiently realise the 

112 



PLAY WITH THE IRON 113 

possibilities of all their tools, some of the finest work in golf 
may be done with the iron. When it is called for the player 
is within easy reach of the hole. The really long work has 
been accomplished, and the prime consideration now is that 
of accuracy. Therefore the man who feels himself able to 
play for the pin and not merely for the green, is he who is in 
the confidence of his iron and knows that there are great 
things to be done with it. 

The fault I have to find with the iron play of most 
golfers is that it comes at the wrong time. I find them 
lunging out with all their power at full shots with their irons 
when they might be far better employed in effecting one of 
those pretty low shots made with the cleek at the half swing. 
It is not in the nature of things that the full iron should be 
as true as the half cleek, where there is such a reserve of 
strength, and the body, being less in a state of strain, the 
mind can be more concentrated on straightness and the 
accurate determination of length. I suspect that this full 
shot is so often played and the preference for the iron is 
established, not merely because it nearly always does its 
work tolerably satisfactorily, but because in the simple 
matter of looks there is something inviting about the iron. 
It has a fair amount of loft, and it is deeper in the face than 
the cleek, and at a casual inspection of its points it seems an 
easy club to play with. On the other hand, being a little 
nearer to the hole, the average player deserts his iron for the 
mashie much sooner than I care to do. Your lo-handicap 
man never gives a second thought as to the tool he shall use 
when he has arrived within a hundred yards of the hole. Is 
he not then approaching in deadly earnest, and has he not 
grown up in golf with a definite understanding that there is 
one thing, and one only, with which to give the true artistic 
finish to the play through the green ? Therefore out of his 
bag comes the mashie, which, if it could speak, would surely 
protest that it is a delicate club with some fine breeding in 
it, and that it was never meant to do this slogging with long 
8 



114 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

swings that comes properly in the departments of its iron 
friends. I seldom use a mashie until I am within eighty- 
yards of the hole. Up to that point I keep my iron in 
action. Much better, I say, is a flick with the iron than a 
thump with the mashie. 

The iron that I most commonly use is nearly two 
inches shorter than my cleek. It follows that the stance 
is taken slightly nearer to the ball ; but reason for moving 
closer to our A line is to be found in what I might describe 
as the more upright lie of an iron as compared with a cleek. 
When the lower edge of the club is laid evenly upon the 
level turf, the stick will usually be found to be a trifle more 
vertical than in the case of the cleek, and therefore for the 
proper preservation of the natural lie of the club the golfer 
must come forward to it. Consequently I find that when I 
have taken my stance for an iron shot (Plate XXXVI L), my 
right foot has come forward no less than 8| inches from the 
point at which it rested when I was taking a tolerably full shot 
with the cleek. The left foot is 3 J inches nearer. Thus the 
body has been very slightly turned in the direction of the hole, 
and while the feet are a trifle closer together, the ball is rather 
nearer to the right toe than it was when being addressed by 
the cleek. Those are the only features of the stance, and 
the only one I really insist upon is the nearness to the ball. 
The commonest defect to be found with iron play is the 
failure to address the ball and play the stroke through with the 
sole of the club laid evenly upon the ground from toe to heel. 
When the man is too far from the ball, it commonly follows 
that the blade of the club comes down on to the turf heel 
first. Then something that was not bargained for happens. 
It may be that the ball was taken by the centre of the iron's 
face, and that the upward and downward swings and the 
^ follow-through were all perfection, and yet it has shot 
away to one side or the other with very little flight in it. 
And perhaps for a week or two, while this is constantly 
happening, the man is wondering why. When, happily, the 



1 




f^mi»mm^^ 





PLATE XXXVII. FULL IRON SHOT. STANCE 






•<?-■■ 




I 



PLATE XXXVII 1. FULL IRON SHOT. TOP OF THE 



SWING 




PLATE XXXIX. FULL IRON SHOT. FINISH 



<S"" 



,.z. 




fe. 



'0 



B 




PLATE XL. PLAY WITH THE IRON FOR A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND). 

STANCE 




PLATE XLI. PLAY WITH THE IRON FOR A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND) 
TOP OF THE SWING 



PLATE XLIT. PLAY WITH THE IRON FOR A LOW BALL (AGAINST WIND). 

FINISH 



PLAY WITH THE IRON 115 

reason is at last made apparent, the man goes forward to its 
correction with that workmanlike thoroughness which char- 
acterises him always and everywhere, and lo! the erring 
ball still pursues a line which does not lead to the green. 
At the same time it may very likely be noticed that the 
slight sense of twisting which was experienced by the hands 
on the earlier occasion is here again. The truth is that the 
first fault was over-corrected, and the toe of the club, instead 
of the heel, has this time had the turf to itself while the ball 
was being removed. Obviously, when either of these faults 
is committed, the club head is twisted, and nothing is more 
impossible than to get in a perfect iron shot when these 
things are done. I am making much ado about what may 
seem after all to be an elementary fault, but a long experi- 
ence of the wayward golfer has made it clear to me that it 
is not only a common fault, which is accountable for much 
defective play with the iron, but that it is often unsuspected, 
and lurks undiscovered and doing its daily damage for weeks 
or even months. The sole of the iron must pass over the 
turf exactly parallel with it. 

There is nothing new to say about the swing of the iron. 
It is the same as the swing of the cleek. For a full iron the 
swing is as long as for the full cleek, and for the half iron it 
is as long as for the half cleek, and both are made in the 
same way. The arms and wrists are managed similarly, and 
I would only offer the special advice that the player should 
make sure that he finishes with his hands well up, showing 
that the ball has been taken easily and properly, as he may 
see them in the photograph (Plate XXXIX.), which in itself 
tells a very good story of comfortable and free play with the 
club, which is at the same time held in full command. The 
whole of the series of photographs of iron shots brings out 
very exactly the points that I desire to illustrate, and I 
cannot do better than refer my readers to them. 

When it is desired to play a half iron shot that will give 
a low ball for travelling against the wind, the same methods 



116 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

may be pursued as when playing the corresponding shot 
with the cleek. 

When one comes to play with the iron, and is within, 
say, 130 yards of the hole, the regulation of the precise 
amount of power to be applied to the ball becomes a matter 
of the first importance, and one that causes unceasing 
anxiety. I feel, then, that it devolves upon me to convey 
a solemn warning to all players of moderate experience, that 
the distance the ball will be despatched is governed entirely 
by the extent of the backward swing of the club. When a 
few extra yards are wanted, put an additional inch or two 
on to the backward swing, and so on ; but never, however 
you may satisfy yourself with excuses that you are doing a 
wise and proper thing, attempt to force the pace at which the 
club is travelling in the downward swing, or, on the other hand, 
attempt to check it. I believe in the club being brought down 
fairly quickly in the case of all iron shots ; but it should 
be the natural speed that comes as the result of the speed 
and length of the upward swing, and the gain in it should 
be even and continuous throughout. Try, therefore, always 
to swing back at the same rate, and to come on to the ball 
naturally and easily afterwards. Of course, in accordance 
with the simple laws of gravity and applied force, the farther 
back you swing the faster will your club be travelling when 
it reaches the ball, and the harder will be the hit. There- 
fore, if the golfer will learn by experience exactly how far 
back he should swing with a certain club in order to get a 
certain distance, and will teach himself to swing to just 
the right length and with always the same amount of force 
applied, the rest is in the hands of Nature, and can be de- 
pended upon with far more certainty than anything which 
the wayward hands and head of the golfer can accomplish. 
This is a very simple and obvious truth, but it is one of 
the main principles of golf, and one that is far too often 
neglected. How frequently do you see a player take a full 
swing when a half shot is all that is wanted, and even when 



PLAY WITH THE IRON 117 

his instinct tells him that the half shot is the game. What 
happens ? The instinct assumes the upper hand at the top 
of the swing, and the man with the guilty conscience de- 
liberately puts a brake on to his club as it is coming down. 
He knows that he has gone too far back, and he is anxious 
then to reduce the speed of the club by unnatural means. 
But the principles of golf are not to be so lightly tampered 
with in this manner, and it affords the conscientious player 
some secret satisfaction to observe that* very rarely indeed 
is anything of a success made of shots of this sort. A 
duffed stroke is the common result. In such cases the 
swing is of no more value than if it had not taken place 
at all. 



CHAPTER XI 
APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE 

The great advantage of good approach play — A fascinating club — Characteristics 
of a good mashie — Different kinds of strokes with it — No purely wrist shot 
— Stance and grip — Position of the body — No pivoting on the left toe — 
The limit of distance — Avoid a full swing — The half iron as against the full 
mashie — The swing — How not to loft — On scooping the ball — Taking a 
divot — The running-up approach — A very valuable stroke — ^The club to use 
— A tight grip with the right hand — Peculiarities of the swing — The calcula- 
tion of pitch and run — The application of cut and spin — A stroke that is 
sometimes necessary — Standing for a cut — Method of swinging and hitting 
the ball — The chip on to the green — Points of the jigger. 

THERE is an old saying that golf matches are won on 
the putting greens, and it has often been established 
that this one, like many other old sayings, contains an ele- 
ment of truth, but is not entirely to be relied upon. In 
playing a hole, what is one's constant desire and anxiety 
from the tee shot to the last putt ? It is to effect, somehow 
or other, that happy combination of excellent skill with a 
little luck as will result practically in the saving of a whole 
stroke, which will often mean the winning of the hole. The 
prospect of being able to exercise this useful economy is 
greatest when the mashie is taken in hand. The difference 
between a good drive and a poor one is not very often to be 
represented by anything like half a stroke. But the differ- 
ence between a really good mashie approach stroke and a 
bad one is frequently at least a stroke, and I have known it 
to be more. Between the brilliant and the average it is one 
full stroke. Of course a stroke is saved and a hole very 
often won when a long putt is holed, but in cases of this 

118 



APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE 119 

kind the proportion of luck to skill is much too great to 
give perfect satisfaction to the conscientious golfer, however 
delightful the momentary sensation may be. When a man 
is playing his mashie well, he is leaving himself very little to 
do on the putting green, so that, if occasionally he does miss 
a putt, he can afford to do so, having constantly been getting 
so near to the flag that one putt has sufficed. When the 
work with the mashie is indifferent or poor, the player is 
frequently left with long putts to negotiate, and is in a fever 
of anxiety until the last stroke has been made on the green. 
It often happens at these times that the putting also is poor, 
and when this is the case a sad mess is made of the score. 
Therefore, while I say that he is a happy and lucky man 
who is able constantly to save his game on the putting 
greens, happier by far is he who is not called upon to do so. 
In this way the skilled golfer generally finds the mashie the 
most fascinating club to play with, and there are few 
pleasures in the game which can equal that of laying the 
ball well up to the pin from a distance of many yards. One 
expects to get much nearer to it with this last of the irons 
than with the cleek or the simple iron, and the more nearly 
the flag is approached the greater the skill and experience 
of the player. Here, indeed, is a field for lifelong practice, 
with a telling advantage accruing from each slight improve- 
ment in play. 

First a word as to the club, for there is scarcely an article 
in the golfer's kit which presents more scope for variety of 
taste and style. Drivers and brassies vary a little, cleeks 
and irons differ much, but mashies are more unlike each 
other than any of them. So much depends upon this part 
of the game, and so much upon the preferences and peculi- 
arities of the player, that it is unlikely that the first mashie 
in which he invests will go alone with him through his ex- 
perience as a golfer. To his stock there will be added other 
mashies, and it is probable that only after years of experi- 
ment will he come to a final determination as to which is the 



120 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

best for him to use. In this question of the choice of mashie 
it is necessary that taste and style should be allowed to have 
their own way. However, to the hesitating golfer, or to him 
whose mashie play so far has been somewhat disappointing, 
I give with confidence the advice to use a mashie which is 
very fairly lofted and which is deep in the blade. I can see 
no use in the mashie with the narrow blade which, when (as 
so often happens when near the green) the ball is lying in 
grass which is not as short as it might be, often passes right 
under the ball — a. loss of a stroke at the most critical moment, 
which is the most exasperating thing I know. Again, for a 
last hint I suggest that he should see that his shaft is both 
stiff and strong. This instrument being used generally for 
lighter work than the other iron clubs, and the delicacy and 
exactness of it being, as a rule, the chief considerations, there 
is a natural tendency on the part of the golfer sometimes to 
favour a thinner stick than usual. But it should be borne in 
mind that there should be no trace of " give " in the shaft, for 
such would be all against the accuracy that is wanted, and 
a man when he is playing the short approach shot wants 
to feel that he has a club in his hand that can be relied 
upon in its every fibre. Moreover, gentle as is much of its 
work, even the mashie at times has some very rough jobs to 
accomplish. So let the stick be fairly stiff. 

Of mashie shots there is an infinite variety. In this 
stroke not only are the lie of the ball and the distance it has 
to be sent controlling factors in the way it has to be played, 
but now the nature and qualities of the green which is being 
approached constitute another, and one which occasions 
more thought and anxiety than any. Generally all mashie 
shots may be separated into three groups. There is what 
we may call the ordinary mashie shot to begin with — mean- 
ing thereby a simple lofted stroke, — there is the running-up 
mashie shot, and there is the special stroke which applies 
extra spin and cut to the ball. There are very pronounced 
differences between these strokes and the ways of playing 



APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE 121 

them. One is often told that " all mashies should be played 
with the wrist." I beg to differ. As I have said before, I 
contend that there is no such thing as a purely wrist shot in 
golf — except on the putting green. If anybody really made 
up his mind to play his mashie with his wrist and his wrist 
alone, he would find the blade of his club in uncomfortable 
proximity to his face at the finish of the stroke, and I should 
not like to hazard a guess as to where the ball might be. 
The fact of the matter is, that those who so often say that 
the mashie must be played with the wrist never attempt to 
play it in this way themselves. They are merely misled by 
the fact that for the majority of mashie strokes a shorter 
swing and less freedom of the arms are desirable than when 
other iron clubs are being employed. An attempt has been 
made to play a pure wrist shot in the " How not to do it " 
photograph. No. XLVIII., and I am sure nobody ever made 
a success of a stroke like that. 

The stance for the mashie differs from that taken when 
an iron shot is being played, in that the feet are placed nearer 
to each other and nearer to the ball. Corr\parison between 
the photographs and diagrams will make the extent of these 
differences and the peculiarities of the stance for the mashie 
quite clear. The right toe is advanced until it is within 
1 1 inches of the A line, the ball is opposite the left heel, the 
left foot is turned slightly more outwardly than usual. As 
for the grip, the only observation that it is necessary to make 
is, that if a very short shot is being played it is sometimes 
best to grasp the club low down at the bottom of the handle, 
but in no circumstances do I approve of the hands leaving 
the leather and getting on to the wood as players sometimes 
permit them to do. When the player is so desperately anxious 
to get so near to the blade with his hands, he should use a 
shorter club. It should also be noticed that the body is more 
relaxed than formerly, that there is more bend at the elbows, 
that the arms are not so stiff, and that there is the least 
suspicion, moreover, of slackness at the knees. The whole 



122 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

attitude is arranged for ease, delicacy of touch, and extreme 
accuracy, whereas formerly simple straightness and power 
were the governing considerations. To the eye of the 
uninitiated, many of these photographs may seem very much 
alike; but a little attentive study of those showing the 
stances for the iron and mashie will make the essential 
differences very apparent. In the address the right knee is 
perceptibly bent, and all the weight of the body is thrown on 
to it. In the backward swing the right knee stiffens and the 
left bends in, the left foot leaning slightly over to facilitate 
its doing so. There is a great tendency on the part of inex- 
perienced or uncertain players to pivot on the left toe in the 
most exaggerated manner even when playing a very short 
mashie stroke. Unless a full shot is being taken, there 
should not only be no pivoting with the mashie, but the left 
heel, throughout the stroke, should be kept either touching 
the ground or raised only the least distance above it.. In the 
backward swing the right knee is stiffened and the left knee 
bends in towards the ball, simply in order to let the club go 
back properly, which it could hardly do if the original pose 
were retained. It is particularly requisite that, though there 
is so much ease elsewhere, the club in the case of these mashie 
shots should be held quite tightly. They are not played 
with the wrists alone, but with the wrists and the forearms, 
and a firm grip is an essential to success. 

When considering the nature of the backward swing, the 
question arises as to how far it should be prolonged, and I 
have already declared myself against making long shots 
with the mashie. It is my strong conviction that a man is 
playing the best and safest golf when he attempts nothing 
beyond eighty yards with his mashie, using an iron or a 
cleek for anything longer. It is very seldom that I play my 
mashie at a distance of over eighty yards, and the limit of 
the swing that I ever give to it is a three-quarter, which 
is what I call an ordinary mashie stroke, and should be 
sufficient to do anything ever to be attempted with this 



C7) 







^ 



m 



I 











PLATE XLIII. MASHIE APPROACH (PITCH AND RUN). STANCE 
{Distance ',o to Zo yaras from i/ie hole.) 




PLATE XLIV. MASHIE APPROACH (PITCH A.ND RUN). TOP OF THE SWING 

(Distance 70 to Zo yards from the hole.) 



>^4,m4^^4 






mi. :m iim ^ -^ 



PLATE XLV. MASHIE APPROACH (PITCH AND RUN). FINISH 

(Distance 70 to 80 yards from the hole ) 




PLATE XLVI. MISTAKES WITH THE MASHIE 
The hands are too far apart. Wliaterer method of grip is favoured at least the right thnrnb 
should be dozvn the shaft to guide it in the case of th's delicate shot. The face of the club is tJtrned 
in slightly from the toe, atid the face als > is loo straight up and is not allowed its natural angle. 
The toe of the chib is likely to come oti to the ball first, and that will cause a pull. Tn any case 
the club cannot be guided properly, and there can be no acctiracy. 




PLATE XLVII. IMISTAKES WITH THE MASHIE 

Heie in this ttpward swi7i_^ the body is being lield too stiffly. It is not pivoting frovt the waist 
as it ought to do. Besides the Jiands being too far apart, the left one is spoiling ei'etything. It is 
o?(t oy control and is trying to get above the shaft, instead of being muierneath it at th.s stage. 
The result will either be a foozle or a pulled ball. The face of the niasliie will not be straight at 
the moment of impact. 




PLATE XLVIIL MISTAKES WITH THE MASHIE 

This is merely a ^' ivrist shot" s-iich as is often recoin7ncnded, and ivhich I say cannot possibly 
give a good result. There is no mere wrist shot. The result of an attempt of this kind is always 
very doubtftil. ht any case, ctcu when the ball is fairly hit, there cari be no length from the stroke. 



I 



^ 








PLATE XLIX. RUNNING UP APPROACH WITH MASHIE OR IRON. 
FINISH, WITH STANCE ALSO INDICATED 



l5'/2 



c6 

"0 



B 



i 




PLATE L. A CUT APPROACH WITH THE MASHIE. STANCE 




PLATE LI. A CUT APPROACH WITH THE MASHIH TOP OF THE SWING 




PLATE LII. A CUT APPROACH WITH THP: MASHIE. FINISH 



APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE 123 

club. But some golfers like taking the fullest mashie stroke 
that they can, and, when hesitating between the use of an 
iron or the lofting club, they usually decide in favour of the 
latter. " I think I can reach it with my mashie," they always 
say, and so they whirl away and commit the most frightful 
abuse on a splendid club, which was never intended to have 
its capabilities strained in order to reach anything. Instead 
of saying that "they think they can reach it with their 
mashie," these golfers should try to decide that " a half iron 
will not carry them too far." It is easier and safer. When- 
ever a ball has a distance to go, I believe in keeping it fairly 
low down, as low as the hazards will permit, believing that 
in this way by constant practice it is possible to ensure much 
greater accuracy than in any other way. No golfer has 
much control over a ball that is sent up towards the sky. 
The mashie is meant to loft, and it is practically impossible 
to play a long shot with it without lofting the ball very much 
and exposing it to all the wind that there is about. As very 
little driving power has been imparted to the ball, what wind 
there may be has considerably more effect upon it than upon 
the flight of other balls played with other iron clubs. 

The line of the backward swing should be much the 
same as that for the half shot with the cleek, but the body 
should be held a little more rigidly, and not be allowed to pivot 
quite so much from the waist as when playing with any of 
the other clubs which have been described. The downward 
swing is the same as before, and in the case of the ordinary 
stroke which we are speaking of, the turf should be hit im- 
mediately behind the ball. As soon as the impact has been 
effected, the body should be allowed to go forward with the 
club, care being taken that it does not start too soon and is 
in front. 

The great anxiety of the immature player when making 
this stroke is to get the ball properly lofted, and in some 
obstinate cases it seems to take several seasons of experience 
to convince him completely that the club has been specially 



124 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

made for the purpose, and, if fairly used, is quite adequate. 
This man cannot get rid of the idea that the player lofts the 
ball, or at least gives material assistance to the club in doing 
it. What happens ? Observe this gentleman when he and 
his ball are on the wrong side of a hazard which is guarding 
the green, and notice the very deliberate way in which he 
goes about doing the one thing that he has been told 
hundreds of times by the most experienced players can only 
be attended by the most disastrous and costly failure. He 
has made up his mind that he will scoop the ball over the 
bunker. He will not trust to his club to do this important 
piece of business. So down goes the right shoulder and into 
the bunker goes the ball, and one more good hole has been 
lost. He doesn't know how it happened; he thinks the 
mashie must be the most difficult club in the world to play 
with, and he complains of his terrible luck ; but by the time 
the approach shot to the next hole comes to be played he is 
at it again. There is nobody so persistent as the scooper, 
and the failure that attends his efforts is a fair revenge by 
the club for the slight that is cast upon its capabilities, for 
the chances are that if the stroke had been played in just the 
ordinary manner without any thought whatever of the bunker, 
and if the ground had been hit just a trifle behind the ball, 
the latter would have been dropped easily and comfortably 
upon the green. Some golfers also seem to imagine that 
they have done all that they could reasonably be expected 
to do when they have taken a divot, and even if the shot has 
proved a failure they derive some comfort from the divot 
they have taken, the said divot usually being a huge slab of 
turf, the removal of which makes a gaping wound in the 
links. But there is nothing to be proud of in this achieve- 
ment, for it does not by any means imply that the stroke has 
been properly made. To hit the ball correctly when making 
an approach with the mashie, it is necessary to take a little 
— ^just a very little — turf. This is so, because the ball will 
not fly and rise properly as the club desires to make it do, 



APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE 1^ 

unless it is taken in the exact middle of the club, which has 
a deeper face than others. I mean middle, not only as 
regards the distance from heel to toe, but between the top 
edge of the blade and the sole. A moment's consideration 
will make it clear that if the stroke were to be made quite 
cleanly, that is to say, if the club merely grazed the ground 
without going into it, the ball would inevitably be taken by 
the lower part of the blade near to the sole and much below 
the centre where the impact ought to be. Therefore it is 
apparent that, in order to take it from the centre, the blade 
must be forced underneath, and if the swing is made in the 
manner directed and the turf is taken just the least distance 
behind the ball — which, of course, means keeping the eye 
just so much more to the right than usual — all that is 
necessary will be easily accomplished. Apart from the loft, 
I think a little more accuracy is ensured by the removal of 
that inch or two of turf. 

Now there is that most valuable stroke, the running-up 
approach, to consider. When skilfully performed, it is often 
most wonderfully and delightfully effective. It is used chiefly 
for short approaches when the ground outside the putting 
green is fairly good and there is either no hazard at all to be 
surmounted, or one that is so very low or sunken as not to 
cause any serious inconvenience. When the running-up shot 
is played in these circumstances by the man who knows how 
to play it, he can generally depend on getting much nearer 
to the hole than if he were obliged to play with a pitch 
alone. It is properly classified as a mashie shot, but there 
are golfers who do it with an iron. Others like a straight- 
faced mashie for the purpose; and a third section have a 
preference for the ordinary mashie, and play for a pitch and 
run. These are details of fancy in which I cannot properly 
interfere. The stance for the stroke differs from that for an 
ordinary mashie shot in that the feet and body are further 
in front, the right toe, for instance, being fully six inches 
nearer to the B line (see Plate XLIX.). The club may be 



126 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

gripped lower down the handle. Moreover, it should be held 
forward, slightly in front of the head. The swing back 
should be very straight, and should not be carried nearly so 
far as in playing an ordinary mashie stroke, for in this case 
the ball requires very little propulsion. This is one of the 
few shots in golf in which the right hand is called upon to do 
most of the work, and that it may be encouraged to do so 
the hold with the left hand should be slightly relaxed. With 
the right hand then fastening tightly to the handle, it comes 
about that the toe of the club at the time of the impact is 
slightly in front of the heel, and this combination of causes 
tends to give the necessary run to the ball when it takes the 
ground. The work of the right hand in the case of this 
stroke is delicate and exact, and it must be very carefully 
timed, for if it is done too suddenly or too soon the result is 
likely to be a foundered ball. The club having been taken 
so straight out in the backward swing, the natural tendency 
will be to draw it very slightly across the ball when contact 
is made, and the blade, then progressing towards the left foot, 
should to finish be taken a few inches further round towards 
the back than in the case of an ordinary mashie shot. One 
cannot very well compare the two in words, however, for 
the finishes are altogether different, as an examination 
of the illustration of the finish of the running-up stroke 
will show. In this case the swing stops when the shaft 
of the club is pointing a little to the left of the direction 
of the ball that is speeding onwards, the blade being 
on a level with the hands. It will be observed that at 
the finish the right hand is well over on the handle. This is 
the kind of stroke that the practised and skilful golfer loves 
most, for few others afford him such a test of calculation and 
judgment. It will not do to make the stroke haphazard. 
Before the blade of the club is moved for the upward swing, 
a very clear understanding should have been formed as to 
the amount of pitch that is to be given to the ball and the 
amount of run. They must be in exactly the proper pro- 



APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE 127 

portion to suit the circumstances, which will vary almost 
every time the stroke is made. Nearly everything depends 
on the state of the land that is to be traversed. The fact of 
the matter is, that this shot is really a combination of lofting 
and putting with many more uncertain quantities to be dealt 
with than when one is really putting on the green. When 
one has decided where the pitch must be, the utmost pains 
should be taken to pitch there exactly, which, as the distance 
will usually be trifling, ought not to be a difficult matter. 
An error of even a foot in a shot of this kind is sometimes 
a serious matter. When properly done it is an exceedingly 
pretty shot, and one which brings great peace to the soul of 
the man who has done it. 

And now we come to that exquisite stroke, the approach, 
to which much cut and spin have been applied for a specific 
purpose. It is a shot which should only be played when 
circumstances render it absolutely necessary. There are 
times when it is the only one which will afford the golfer 
a good chance of coming well through a trying ordeal. 
When we play it we want the ball to stop dead almost as 
soon as it reaches the turf at the end of the pitch. If there 
is a tolerably high bunker guarding the green, and the flag is 
most awkwardly situated just at the other side, it is the only 
shot that can be played. A stroke that would loft the ball 
over the bunker in the ordinary manner would carry it far 
beyond the hole— too far to make the subsequent putting 
anything but a most difficult matter. Or, on the other hand, 
leaving out of the question the hole which is hiding just on 
the other side of the hazard protecting the green, it often 
happens in the summer-time, when greens are hard and fiery, 
that it is absolutely impossible to make a ball which has been 
pitched on to them in the ordinary manner stay there. Away 
it goes bouncing far off on to the other side, and another 
approach shot has to be played, often by reason of a hazard 
having been found, more difficult than the first. If there 
must be a pitch, then the thing to do is to try to apply a 



128 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

brake to the ball when it comes down, and we can only do 
this by cutting it. There are greens which at most seasons 
of the year demand that the ball reaching them shall be cut 
for a dead drop, such as the green laid at a steep angle 
when the golfer has to approach it from the elevated side. A 
little cut is a comparatively easy thing to accomplish, but 
when the brake is really wanted it is usually a most pro- 
nounced cut, that will bring the ball up dead or nearly so, 
that is called for, and this is a most difficult stroke. I regard 
the ordinary mashie as the best club with which to make it, 
but there are some good golfers who like the niblick for 
this task, and it is undoubtedly productive of good results. 
However, I will suppose that it is to be attempted with the 
mashie. 

The stance is quite different from that which was adopted 
when the running-up shot was being played. Now the man 
comes more behind the ball, and the right foot goes forward 
until the toe is within 8 inches of the A line, while the instep 
of the left foot is right across B. The feet also are rather 
closer together. An examination of Plate L. will give an 
exact idea of the peculiarities of the stance for this stroke. 
Grip the club very low down on the handle, but see that the 
right hand does not get off the leather. This time, in the 
upward swing let the blade of the mashie go well outside the 
natural line for an ordinary swing, that is to say, as far away 
from the body in the direction of the A line as is felt to be 
comfortable and convenient. While this is being done, the 
left elbow should be held more stiffly and kept more severely 
under control than the right. At the top of the swing — 
which, as will be seen from the picture of it (Plate LI.), is only 
a short half swing, and considerably shorter than that for an 
ordinary mashie shot — neither arm is at full length, the right 
being well bent and the left slightly. When this upward swing 
has been made correctly, the blade of the mashie naturally 
comes across the ball at the time of impact, and in this way 
a certain amount of cut is applied. But this is not the limit 



APPROACHING WITH THE MASHIE 129 

of the possibilities of cutting, as many golfers seem to imagine, 
nor is it sufficient to meet some of the extreme cases which 
occasionally present themselves. To do our utmost in this 
direction we must decide that extremely little turf must be 
taken, for it is obvious that unless the bare blade gets to 
work on the ball it cannot do all that it is capable of doing. 
The metal must go right underneath the ball, just skimming 
the grass in the process, and scarcely removing any of the 
turf. It is also most important that at the instant when ball 
and club come into contact the blade should be drawn quickly 
towards the left foot. To do this properly requires not only 
much dexterity but most accurate timing, and first attempts 
are likely to be very clumsy and disappointing. But many 
of the difficulties will disappear with practice, and when at 
last some kind of proficiency has been obtained, it will be 
found that the ball answers in the most obedient manner to 
the call that is made upon it. It will come down so dead 
upon the green that it may be pitched up into the air until 
it is almost directly over the spot at which it is desired to 
place it. In playing this stroke a great deal depends on the 
mastery which the golfer obtains over his forearms and wrists. 
At the moment of impact the arms should be nearly full 
length and stiff, and the wrists as stiff as it is possible to 
make them. I said that the drawing of the blade towards 
the left foot would have to be done quickly, because obviously 
there is very little time to lose ; but it must be done smoothly 
and evenly, without a jerk, which would upset the whole 
swing, and if it is begun the smallest fraction of a second 
too soon the ball will be taken by the toe of the club, and 
the consequences will not be satisfactory. I have returned 
to make this the last word about the cut because it is the 
essence of the stroke, and it calls for what a young player 
may well regard as an almost hopeless nicety of perfection. 

There is another little approach shot which is usually 
called the chip on to the green, but which is really nothing 
but the pitch and run on a very small scale. It is used when 
9 



130 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

the ball has only just failed to reach the green, or has gone 
beyond it, and is lying in the rougher grass only a very few 
yards from the edge of it. It often happens in cases of this 
sort that the putter may be ventured upon, but when that is 
too risky a little pitch is given to the ball and it is allowed 
to run the last three or four yards to the hole. An ordinary 
iron will often be found the most useful club for the purpose. 

Latterly a new kind of club has become fashionable in 
some quarters for approaching. They call it the jigger, and, 
having a longer blade than the ordinary mashie, its users 
argue that it is easier to play with. That may be true to a 
certain extent when the ball is lying nicely, but we are not 
always favoured with this good fortune, and I have no 
hesitation in saying that for inferior or cuppy lies the jigger 
is a very ineffectual instrument. The long head cannot get 
into the cups, and the accuracy that is always called for in 
approaching is made impossible. If a jigger must be carried 
in the bag, it should be merely as an auxiliary to the ordinary 
mashie. 

Such are the shots with the mashie, and glad is the man 
who has mastered all of them, for he is then a golfer of great 
pretensions, who is to be feared by any opponent at any 
time or place. 



CHAPTER XII 
ON BEING BUNKERED 

The philosopher in a bunker — On making certain of getting out — The folly of 
trying for length — When to play back — The qualities of the niblick — Stance 
and swing — How much sand to take — The time to press — No follow-through 
in a bunker — Desperate cases — The brassy in a bunker — Difficulties through 
prohibited grounding — Play straight when length is imperative — Cutting 
with the niblick. 

THIS is a hateful subject, but one which demands the 
most careful and unprejudiced consideration, for are 
not even the best of us bunkered almost daily? There is 
nothing like the bunkers on a golf links for separating the 
philosophic from the unphilosophic among a golfing crowd, 
and when a representative of each section is in a bunker at 
the same time it is heavy odds on the philosopher winning 
the hole. There are two respects in which he differs from 
his opponent at this crisis in his golfing affairs. He does 
not become flurried, excited, and despondent, and give the 
hole up for lost with a feeling of disgust that he had com- 
mitted the most unpardonable sin. He remembers that there 
are still various strokes to be played before the hole is reached, 
and that it is quite possible that in the meantime his friend 
may somewhere lose one and enable him to get on level 
terms again. When two players with plus handicaps are 
engaged in a match, a bunkered ball will generally mean a 
lost hole, but others who have not climbed to this pinnacle 
of excellence are far too pessimistic if they assume that this 
rule operates in their case also. The second matter in which 
the philosophic golfer rises superior to his less favoured 

181 



132 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

brother when there is a bunker stroke to be played, is that 
he fully realises that the bunker was placed there for the 
particular purpose of catching certain defective shots, and 
that the definite idea of its constructors was that the man who 
played such a shot should lose a stroke as penalty for doing 
so — every time. It is legitimate for us occasionally to put it 
to ourselves that those constructors did not know the long 
limits of our resource nor the craftiness we are able to dis- 
play when in a very tight corner, and that therefore, if we 
find a favourable opportunity, we may cheat the bunker out 
of the stroke that it threatens to take from us. But this 
does not happen often. When the golfer has brought himself 
to realise that, having played into a bunker, he has lost a 
stroke or the best part of one, and accepts the position 
without any further ado, he has gone a long way in the 
cultivation of the most desirable proporties of mind and 
temperament with which any player of the game can be 
endowed. This man, recognising that his stroke is lost, 
when he goes up to his ball and studies the many difficulties 
of its situation, plays for the mere purpose of getting out 
again, and probably putting himself on the other side in that 
one stroke which was lost. It does not matter to him if he 
only gets two yards beyond the bunker — ^just far enough to 
enable him to take his stance and swing properly for the 
next shot. Distance is positively no object whatever, and 
in this way he insures himself against further loss, and goes 
the right way to make up for his misfortune. 

Now, what does the other man do in like circumstances ? 
Unreasonably and foolishly he refuses to accept the inevit- 
able, and declines to give up the idea of getting to a point 
a hundred yards or more in front with his next shot, which 
he would have reached if he had not been^ in the bunker. 
He seems to think that the men who made the bunkers did 
not know their business. Having been bunkered, he says to 
himself that it is his duty to himself and to the game to 
make up for the stroke which was lost by supremely brilliant 



ON BEING BUNKERED 133 

recovery under the most disheartening circumstances. He 
insists that the recovery must be made here in the bunker, 
and thereafter he will progress as usual. It never occurs to 
him that it would be wiser and safer to content himself 
with just getting out the hazard, and then, playing under 
comparatively easy and comfortable conditions, to make his 
grand attempt at recovering the lost stroke. He would be 
much more likely to succeed. A stroke lost or gained is of 
equal value at any point on the route from the tee to the 
hole, and it is a simple fact, too often never realised, that a 
long putt makes up for a short drive, and a mashie shot laid 
dead for a previous stroke from which the ball was trapped in 
the bunker. But the unphilosophic gentleman, who is ignorant 
of, or tries to resist, these truths, feels that his bunkered 
stroke must be compensated for by the next one or never. 
What is the result ? Recklessly, unscientifically, even ludi- 
crously, he fires away at the ball in the bunker with a 
cleek or an iron or a mashie, striving his utmost to get 
length, when, with the frowning cliff of the bunker high in 
front of him and possibly even overhanging him, no length 
is possible. At the first attempt he fails to get out. His 
second stroke in the hazard shares the same fate. With a 
third or a fourth his ball by some extraordinary and lucky 
chance may just creep over the top of the ridge. How it 
came to do so when played in this manner nobody knows. 
The fact can only be explained by the argument that if you 
keep on doing the same thing something is sure to happen 
in the end, and it is a sufficient warning to these bunkered 
golfers that the gods of golf have so large a sense of justice 
and of right and wrong that by this time the hole has for 
a certainty been lost. The slashing player who wants to 
drive his long ball out of the bunker very rarely indeed gets 
even this little creep over the crest until he has played two 
or three more, and is in a desperate state of lost temper. 
An alternative result to his efforts comes about when he has 
played these three or four more, and his ball is, if anything, 



1S4 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

more hopelessly bunkered than ever. All sense of what is 
due to the game and to his own dignity is then suddenly 
lost, and a strange sight is often seen. Five, six, and seven 
more follow in quick succession, the man's arms working 
like the piston of a locomotive, and his eyes by this time 
being quite blinded to the ball, the sand, the bunker, and 
everything else. As an interesting feature of what we 
might call golfing physiology, I seriously suggest that 
players of these habits and temperament, when they begin 
to work like a steam-engine in the bunker, do not see the 
ball at all for the last few strokes. The next time they 
indulge in their peculiar performance, let them ask themselves 
immediately afterwards whether they did see it or not, and 
in the majority of cases they will have to answer in the 
negative. When it is over, a few impious words are uttered, 
the ball is picked up, and there is a slow and gloomy march 
to the next tee, from which it is unlikely that a good drive 
will be made. The nervous system of the misguided golfer 
has been so completely upset by the recent occurrences, that 
he may not recover his equanimity until several more strokes 
have been played, or perhaps until the round is over and the 
distressing incidents have at last passed from his mind. 

This has been a long story about a thing that happens 
on most links every day, but the moral of it could hardly 
have been emphasised properly or adequately if it had* been 
told in fewer words, or if the naked truth had been wrapped 
up in any more agreeable terms. The moral obviously is, 
that the golfer on being bunkered must concentrate his 
whole mind, capabilities, and energies on getting out in one 
stroke, and must resolutely refrain from attempting length 
at the same time, for, in nine cases out of ten, length is 
impossible. There are indeed occasions when so light a 
sentence has been passed by the bunker on the erring ball 
that a long shot is practicable, but they are very rare, and 
come in an entirely different category from the average 
bunkered ball, and we will consider them in due course 



ON BEING BUNKERED 1S5 

On the other hand, there are times when it is manifestly- 
impossible even to get to the other side of the bunker in a 
single stroke, as when the ball is tucked up at the foot of a 
steep and perhaps overhanging cliff. Still the man must 
keep before himself the fact that his main object is to get 
out in the fewest strokes possible, and in a case of this sort 
he may be wise to play back, particularly if it is a medal 
round that he is engaged upon. If he plays back he is still 
in the running for his prize if his golf has been satisfactory 
up to this point, for an addition of two strokes to his score 
through such an accident, though a serious handicap, is 
seldom a hopeless one. If he does not play back his chance 
of victory may disappear entirely at this bunker. His 
instinct tells him that it probably will do so. Which then 
is the wiser and better course to take ? 

Now, then, let us consider the ways and means of getting 
out of bunkers, and take in our hands the most unpopular 
club that our bags contain. We never look upon the niblick 
with any of that lingering affection which is constantly 
bestowed on all the other instruments that we possess, as we 
reflect upon the splendid deeds that they have performed 
for us on many memorable occasions. The niblick revives 
only unpleasant memories, but less than justice is done to 
this unfortunate club, for, given fair treatment, it will 
accomplish most excellent and remunerative work in rescu- 
ing its owner from the predicaments in which his carelessness 
or bad luck in handling the others has placed him. There 
is little variety in niblicks, and therefore no necessity to 
discourse upon their points, for no professional is ever likely 
to stock a niblick for sale that is unequal to the performance 
of its peculiar duties. It has rougher and heavier work to 
do than any other club, and more brute force is requisitioned 
in employing it than at any other time. Therefore the 
shaft should be as strong as it is possible for it to be, and 
it should be so stiff that it will not bend under the most 
sevei e pressure. The head should be rather small and round, 



1S6 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

with plenty of loft upon it, and very heavy. A light niblick 
is useless. 

It is difficult to advise as to the stance that should be 
taken for a niblick shot in a bunker, inasmuch as it so 
frequently happens that this is governed by circumstances 
which are quite beyond the golfer's control. He must learn 
to adapt himself in the best possible manner to the conditions 
in which he finds himself, and it will often happen that he 
is cramped for space, he may be unable to get a proper or 
comfortable place for one or both of his feet, or he may be 
obliged to stand with one foot — generally the left one — 
considerably above the other. But when there are none of 
these difficulties besetting him, it may be said that generally 
the stance most suited to a stroke with the niblick is similar 
to that which would be taken for a long shot with an iron, 
except perhaps that the player should stand a little nearer 
to the ball, so that he may be well over it while making his 
swing. The most important respect in which the swing 
differs from that of the iron is that the club is brought 
up much straighten By this I mean that the head of the 
club should not be allowed to come round quite so much, 
but throughout its course should be kept as nearly as pos- 
sible overhanging what we have been calling the A line. 
The swing, indeed, is much more of what I call an upright 
character than that of any other stroke in the game, and 
at the top of it, the blade having passed over the right 
shoulder and the golfer's head, the shaft should be nearly 
horizontal and right over the back of the head, an example 
of which may be seen in Plate LHL, where I have a fairly 
good lie, but am rather badly bunkered for all that, being 
only a couple of feet from the base of a high and tolerably 
steep bank. 

If there is such a thing as an average bunker shot, this is 
the one, and I am now describing the method of dealing 
with cases of this and similar character. There must be no 
thought of hitting the ball cleanly with the club in a case of 




PLATE LI 1 1. THE NIBLICK IN A BUNKER. TOP OF AN ORDINARY STROKE 
WHEN IT IS INTENDED TO TAKE MUCH SAND 




Z 



Z > 

- o 






53 







PLATE LV. ANOTHER BUNKER STROKE. TOP OF THE SWING WHEN 
INTENDING TO TAKE THE BALL CLEANLY AND WITH A LITTLE CUT 




PLATE LVL FINISH AFTER TAKING THE BALL CLEANLY FROM A BUNKER 



ON BEING BUNKERED 187 

this kind, or in any other than the most exceptional situa- 
tions or emergencies when bunkered. The club must hit 
the sand, and the sand must move the ball, but the iron 
blade of the niblick must hardly ever come into contact with 
the ball. To prevent its doing so, and to ensure the blade 
getting underneath sufficiently to lift the ball up at the very 
sharp angle that is necessary if it is to surmount the obstruc- 
tion in front of it, the sand should be struck at a point fully 
two inches behind the ball.* If the sand is exceedingly light 
and dry, so that it offers very little resistance to the passage of 
the club, this distance may be slightly increased, or it may 
be diminished if the lie in the bunker is very heavy, con- 
sisting of gravel or clay. It is on this point, so far behind 
the ball, that the eye must, of course, be sternly and rigidly 
fixed, and it is a duty which the beginner frequently finds 
most difficult to fulfil. In the downward swing the club 
should be brought on to the spot indicated with all the 
speed and force of which the golfer is capable. At other 
times he may have had a yearning to press, which he has 
with difficulty stifled. He may make up for all these un- 
gratified desires by pressing now with all the strength in his 
body, and the harder the better so long as he keeps his eye 
steadily fixed on that point behind the ball and is sure that 
his muscular efforts will not interfere with his accuracy. 
After all, the latter need not be quite so fine in this case as 
in the many others that we have already discussed, for an 
eighth of an inch one way or the other does not much matter 
in the case of a niblick shot where there are two inches of 
sand to plough through. Swing harder than ever on to the 
sand, with the knowledge that the swing will end there, for 
a follow-through is not desired and would in many cases be 
impossible. When the heavy blade goes crash into the sand 
and blows it, and the ball with it, up into the air as if the 
electric touch had been given to an explosive mine, the club 
has finished its work, and when the golfer is at rest again 
and is surveying the results of his labours — with his eyes, let 



138 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

us hope, directed to the further side of the hazard — the blade 
will still remain in the cavity that it has made in the floor 
of the bunker. If any attempt were made to follow through, 
it is highly probable that sufficient sand would not be taken 
to make the ball rise up soon enough. 

However, the more one reflects upon bunkers and nib- 
licks, the more does one feel that the circumstances must 
govern the method of playing each of these strokes, and 
there is no finer field for the display of the golfer's judgment 
and resource than this. The next best accomplishment to 
the negative one of avoiding bunkers is that of getting out 
again with the least waste of strokes and distance; and, 
indeed, I should say that the man who is somewhat addicted 
to being bunkered but invariably makes a good recovery, is 
at least on level terms with another who is in trouble not 
quite so frequently but who suffers terribly when he is. The 
golden rule — I say it once again — is to make certain of 
getting out ; but now that I have sufficiently emphasised this 
point, I am ready to consider those few occasions when it 
appears a little weak and unsatisfactory. Certainly there 
are times, as we all know, when the enemy, having had 
matters his own way at a hole, it will not be of the slightest 
use merely to scramble out of a bunker in one stroke. The 
case is so desperate that a stroke that will carry the ball for 
perhaps loo or 120 yards is called for. Such a necessity does 
not affect my rule as to making certain of getting out, for 
in practical golf one cannot take any serious account of 
erne, gencies of this kind. But there are times when every 
player must either attempt the shot that most frequently 
baffles his superiors, or forthwith give up the hole, and it is 
not in human nature to cave in while the faintest spark of 
hope remains. In thus attempting the impossible, or the 
only dimly possible, we are sometimes led even to take the 
brassy in a bunker. In a case of this sort, of course, every- 
thing depends on the lie of the ball and its distance from 
the face of the bunker. When it is a shallow pot bunker, 



ON BEING BUNKERED 139 

the shot is often practicable, and sometimes when one is 
bunkered on a seaside course the hazard is so wide that 
there is time for the ball to rise sufficiently to clear the 
obstruction. But the average bunker on an inland course, say- 
four feet high with only six feet of sand before it, presents 
few such loopholes for escape. The difficulty of playing a shot 
from a bunker when any club other than the niblick, such 
as the brassy, is chosen with the object of obtaining length 
by hitting the ball clean, is obviously increased by the rule 
which prohibits the grounding of the club in addressing. To 
be on the safe side, the sole of the club is often kept fully an 
inch and a half above the sand when the address is being 
made, and this inch and a half has to be corrected down to 
an eighth in the forward swing, for of all shots that must be 
taken accurately this one so full of difficulty must be. In 
making his correction the man is very likely to overdo it and 
strike the sand before the ball, causing a sclaff, or, on the 
other hand, not to correct sufficiently when the only possible 
result would be a topped ball and probably a hopeless posi- 
tion in the hazard. It is indeed a rashly speculative shot, 
and one of the most difficult imaginable. It comes off 
sometimes, but it is a pure matter of chance when it does, 
and the lucky player is hardly entitled to that award of 
merit which he may fancy he deserves. 

When the situation of the bunkered ball is unusually 
hopeful, and there does really seem to be a very fair prospect 
of making a good long shot, I think it generally pays best 
to play straight at the hazard, putting just a little cut on 
the ball to help it to rise, and employing any club that 
suggests itself for the purpose. I think, in such circum- 
stances, that it pays best to go straight for the hazard, 
because, if length is urgently demanded, what is the use of 
playing at an angle? Again, though there is undoubtedly 
an advantage gained by taking a bunker crossways, and 
thus giving the ball more time to rise, the advantage is often 
greatly exaggerated in the golfer's mind. When a ball is 



140 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

bunkered right on the edge of the green, it is sometimes best 
to try to pick it up not quite but almost cleanly with the 
niblick or mashie, in the hope that one more stroke after- 
wards will be sufificient either to win or halve the hole, 
whereas an ordinary shot with the niblick would not be 
likely to succeed so well. If, after due contemplation of all 
the heavy risks, it is decided to make such an attempt, the 
stroke should be played very much after the fashion of the 
mashie approach with cut. I need hardly say that such a 
shot is one of the most difficult the golfer will ever have 
occasion to attempt. The ordinary cut mashie stroke is 
hard to accomplish, but the cut niblick is harder still. I 
have already given directions for the playing of such shots, 
and the rest must be left to the golfer's daring and his 
judgment 



CHAPTER XIII 
SIMPLE PUTTING 

A game within another game — Putting is not to be taught — The advantage of 
experience — Vexation of missing short putts — Some anecdotes — Individuality 
in putting — The golfer's natural system — How to find it — And when found 
make a note of it — The quality of instinct — All sorts of putters — How I once 
putted for a Championship — The part that the right hand plays — The 
manner of hitting the ball — On always being up and "giving the hole a 
chance" — Easier to putt back after overrunning than when short — The 
trouble of Tom Morris. 

PUTTING in golf is a game within another game. 
While I am not prepared to endorse the opinion that 
is commonly expressed, that a golfer is born and not made, 
I am convinced that no amount of teaching will make a 
golfer hole out long putts with any frequency, nor will it 
even make him at all certain of getting the short ones down. 
But it will certainly put him in the right way of hitting the 
ball, which after all will be a considerable gain. Experience 
counts for very much, and it will convert a man who was 
originally a bad putter into one who will generally hold his 
own on the greens, or even be superior to the majority of 
his fellows. Even experience, however, counts for less in 
putting than in any other department of the game, and there 
are many days in every player's life when he realises only 
too sadly that it seems to count for nothing at all. Do we 
not from time to time see beginners who have been on the 
links but a single month, or even less than that, laying their 
long putts as dead as anybody could wish almost every time, 
and getting an amazing percentage of them into the tin 
itself? Often enough they seem to do these things simply 

141 



14£ THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

because, as we should say, they know nothing at all about 
putting, which is perhaps another way of saying that their 
minds are never embarrassed by an oppressive knowledge 
of all the difficulties which the ball will meet with in its passage 
from the club to the hole, and of the necessity of taking 
steps to counteract them all. They are not afraid of the 
hole. The fact is that putting is to a far greater extent 
than most of us suspect purely a matter of confidence. 
When a man feels that he can putt he putts, and when he has 
a doubt about it he almost invariably makes a poor show 
upon the greens. Do I not know to my cost what it is to 
feel that I cannot putt, and on those occasions to miss the 
most absurdly little ones that ever wait to be popped into 
the hole without a moment's thought or hesitation ? It is 
surely the strangest of the many strange things in golf, that 
the old player, hero of many senior medal days, victor in 
matches over a hundred links, will at times, when the for- 
tunes of an important game depend upon his action, miss a 
little putt that his ten-year-old daughter would get down 
nine times out of ten. She, dear little thing, does not yet 
know the terrors of the short putt. Sometimes it is the 
most nerve-breaking thing to be found on the hundred 
acres of a golf course. The heart that does not quail 
when a yawning bunker lies far ahead of the tee just at the 
distance of a good drive, beats in trouble when there are but 
thirty inches of smooth even turf to be run over before the 
play of the hole is ended. I am reminded of a story of 
Andrew Kirkaldy, who in his young days once carried for 
a young student of divinity who was most painfully nervous 
on the putting greens, and repeatedly lost holes in conse- 
quence. When Andrew could stand this reckless waste of 
opportunities no longer, he exclaimed to his employer, " Man, 
this is awfu' wark. Ye're dreivin' like a roarin' lion and puttin* 
like a puir kittlin'." But the men whose occupations are of 
the philosophical and peaceful kind are not the only ones 
who may be fairly likened to Andrew's " puir kittlin' " when 



SIMPLE PUTTING 148 

there are short putts to be holed. Is there not the famous 
case of the Anglo-Indian sportsman, one of the mightiest of 
hunters, who feared nothing like the hole when it lay so 
near to him that his tears of agony might almost have fallen 
into it ? It was this man who declared, " I have encountered 
all the manifold perils of the jungle, I have tracked the huge 
elephant to his destruction, and I have stood eye to eye 
with the man-eating tiger. And never once have I trembled 
until I came to a short putt." Yet with such facts as these 
before us, some people still wonder wherein lies the fascina- 
tion of golf. How often does it happen that an inch on the 
putting green is worth more than a hundred yards in the 
drive, and that the best of players are confounded by this 
circumstance ? It is very nearly true, as Willie Park has so 
often said, that the man who can putt need fear nobody. 
Certainly a player can never be really great until he is 
nearly always certain to hole out in two putts on the green, 
and to get down a few in one. The approach stroke has been 
well played when the ball comes to rest within four or five 
feet of the pin, but what is the use of that unless the ball is 
to be putted out more often than not in one more stroke ? 

For the proper playing of the other strokes in golf, I 
have told my readers to the best of my ability how they 
should stand and where they should put their feet. But 
except for the playing of particular strokes, which come 
within the category of those called "fancy," I have no 
similar instruction to offer in the matter of putting. There 
is no rule, and there is no best way. Sometimes you see a 
player bend down and hold the putter right out in front of 
him with both wrists behind the shaft. This is an eccen- 
tricity, but if the player in question believes that he can putt 
better in this way than in any other, he is quite justified in 
adopting it, and I would be the last to tell him that he is 
wrong. The fact is that there is more individuality in putt- 
ing than in any other department of golf, and it is absolutely 
imperative that this individuality should be allowed to have 



144 THE COMPLEtE GOLFER 

its way. I believe seriously that every man has had a par« 
ticular kind of putting method awarded to hint by Nature, 
and when he putts exactly in this way he will do well, and 
when he departs from his natural system he will miss the 
long ones and the short ones too. First of all, he has to 
find out this particular method which Nature has assigned 
for his use. There ought not to be much difficulty about 
this, for it will come unconsciously to his aid when he is not 
thinking of anybody's advice or of anything that he has ever 
read in any book on golf. That day the hole will seem as big 
as the mouth of a coal mine, and putting the easiest thing in 
the world. When he stands to his ball and makes his little 
swing, he feels as easy and comfortable and confident as any 
man can ever do. Yet it is probable that, so far as he knows, 
he is not doing anything special. It may happen that the 
very next day, when he thinks he is standing and holding 
his club and hitting the ball in exactly the same way, 
he nevertheless feels distinctly uncomfortable and full of 
nervous hesitation as he makes his stroke, and then the 
long putts are all either too short, or too long, or wide, 
and the little ones are missed. 

I don't think that the liver or a passing variation in 
temperament is altogether the cause of this. I believe it is 
because the man has departed even by a trifle from his own 
natural stance. A change of the position of the feet by even 
a couple of inches one way or the other may alter the stance 
altogether, and knock the player clean off his putting. In 
this new position he will wriggle about and feel uncomfort- 
able. Everything is wrong. His coat is in the way, his 
pockets seem too full of old balls, the feel of his stockings on 
his legs irritates him, and he is conscious that there is a nail 
coming up on the inside of the sole of his boot. It is all 
because he is just that inch or two removed from the stance 
which Nature allotted to him for putting purposes, but he 
does not know that, and consequently everything in the world 
except the true cause is blamed for the extraordinary things 



SIMPLE PUTTING 145 

he does. A fair sample of many others was the clergyman 
who, having missed a short putt when playing in a match 
over a Glasgow links, espied in the distance on an eminence 
fully a quarter of a mile away from the green, an innocent 
tourist, who was apparently doing nothing more injurious to 
golf than serenely admiring the view. But the clerical 
golfer, being a man of quick temper, poured forth a torrent 
of abuse, exclaiming, " How could I hole the ball with that 
blockhead over there working his umbrella as if it were the 
pendulum of an eight-day clock ! " When this is the kind 
of thing that is happening, I advise the golfer to try varia- 
tions in his stance for putting, effecting the least possible 
amount of change at a time. There is a chance that at last 
he will drop into his natural stance, or something very near 
it, and even if he does not there is some likelihood that he 
will gain a trifle in confidence by the change, and that will 
count for much. And anyhow there is ample justification 
for any amount of manoeuvring of the body and the feet 
when one is off one's putting, for at the best, to make use of 
something like an Irishism, the state of things is then hope- 
lessly bad, and every future tendency must be in the way of 
improvement. There is one other suggestion to make to 
those golfers who believe what I say about the natural 
stance, and by this time it will have become more or less 
obvious to them. It is that when they are fairly on their 
putting, and are apparently doing all that Nature intended 
them to do, and are feeling contented in body and mind 
accordingly, they should take a sly but very careful look at 
their feet and body and everything else just after they have 
made a successful long putt, having felt certain all the time 
that they would make it. This examination ought not to 
be premeditated, because that would probably spoil the 
whole thing ; and it usually happens that when one of these 
long ones has been successfully negotiated, the golfer is too 
much carried away by his emotions of delight to bring him- 
self immediately to a sober and acute analysis of how it was 

10 



146 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

done. But sometime he may remember to look into the 
matter, and then he should note the position of everything 
down to the smallest detail and the fraction of an inch, and 
make a most careful note of them for future reference. It 
will be invaluable. So, as I hold that putting is a matter 
of Nature and instinct, I make an exception this time to my 
rule in the matter of illustrations, and offer to my readers no 
diagram with stance measurements. From the two photo- 
graphs of myself putting in what I had every reason to 
believe at the time was my own perfectly natural stance, 
they may take any hints that they may discover. 

In the matter of putters, of which there is an infinite 
variety and a new one invented almost every month, I believe 
in a man playing with just that kind that he has most con- 
fidence in and which he fancies suits him best. Whether it 
is a plain gun-metal instrument, a crooked-necked affair, a 
putting cleek, an ordinary aluminium, a wooden putter, or the 
latest American invention, it is all the same ; and if it suits 
the man who uses it, then it is the best putter in the world 
for him, and the one with which he will hole out most 
frequently. In no other sense is there such a thing as a 
best putter. The bnly semblance of a suggestion that I will 
presume to offer in this connection is, that for very long putts 
there is something to be said in favour of the wooden and 
aluminium putters, which seem to require less exertion than 
others, and to enable the player to regulate the strength of 
the stroke more exactly. For the shorter ones, I like the 
putting cleek best. But even these are matters of fancy, 
and what a great deal even the vaguest, most unreasoning 
belief in a putter has to do with the success with which it is 
manipulated I have as good a reason as anyone to under- 
stand, since I owe my first Championship largely to the help 
of a putter which I had never used before, and which was 
really not a putter at all, but, as I have explained elsewhere, 
simply a little cleek which I picked up accidentally in a 
professional's shop on the eve of the struggle, and in which 





PLATE LVII. PUTTING 




PLATE LVIII. PUTTING 



I 



I 



SIMPLE PUTTING 147 

I had a new shaft fixed to my own liking. On that occasion 
I putted with this instrument as the winner of a champion- 
ship ought to putt, but I have never been able to do any 
good with it since, and in these days it is resting idly in my 
shop, useless but quite unpurchasable for any money. I do 
believe that it is a good thing to be the possessor of two 
putters, with both of which you have at one time or another 
done well, and in which you have unlimited confidence. 
Don't carry them both in the bag at the same time, but keep 
one safe in the locker, and when the day comes, as it surely 
will, when you are off your putting, take it out on to the links 
for the next round and see what you can do with it. Your 
weakness on the green may no more have been the fault of 
the other putter than the tourist was the cause of the clergy- 
man missing the little one at Glasgow, but very much will 
be gained if you can persuade yourself that it was. 

It is to a certain extent possible to be definite in 
remarking upon the grip. Some good golfers clasp their 
putters tightly with both hands ; others keep the left hand 
loose and the right hand firm ; and a third selection do the 
reverse, each method being justified on its day. But in this 
part of the game it is quite clear that the right hand has 
more work to do than the left. It is the right hand that 
makes the stroke, and therefore I consider that it should 
be allowed plenty of play, and that the left wrist should 
be held more loosely than the right. For my part I use the 
same overlapping grip in putting as in all the other strokes, 
making just this one small variation, that instead of allowing 
the right thumb to fall over the shaft, as when driving 
or playing through the green, I place it on the top of the 
shaft and pointing down it. This seems to me to make for 
accuracy. 

In playing what we may call an ordinary putt, that is to 
say, one presenting no difficulties in the way of stymies, 
slopes of the green, or anything of that kind, I think it pays 
best in the long run to make a point of always hitting the 



148 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

ball with the middle of the face of the club, although, I 
believe, Willie Park, one of the greatest of putters, always 
hits the ball off the toe of the club and comes in to the hole 
from the right-hand side of it. Other players consistently 
and by design half top the ball when they are putting. 
There should be no sharp hit and no jerk in the swing, 
which should have the even gentle motion of a pendulum. 
In the backward swing, the length of which, as in all other 
strokes in golf, is regulated by the distance it is desired to 
make the ball travel, the head of the putter should be kept 
exactly in the line of the putt. Accuracy will be impossible 
if it is brought round at all. There should be a short follow- 
through after impact, varying, of course, according to the 
length of the putt. In the case of a long one, the club will 
go through much further, and then the arms would naturally 
be more extended. In the follow-through the putter should 
be kept well down, the bottom edge scraping the top of the 
grass for some inches. It is easy to understand how much 
more this course of procedure will tend towards the accuracy 
and delicacy of the stroke than the reverse method, in which 
the blade of the putter would be cocked up as soon as the 
ball had left it. 

Before I close my remarks on the simple putt, I feel that 
it is a duty to repeat once more those wise maxims relating 
to putting that have been uttered some tens of thousands of 
times already. " Never up, never in." There is nothing so 
true, and the number of matches and medals that have been 
lost through the reckless and foolish disregard of this rule must 
be enormous. The hole will never come to you ; therefore 
make up your mind that you will always go to the hole, and 
let it be an invariable practice to play for the back of the tin 
so that you will always have just a little in hand. The most 
deadly accuracy and the nicest calculations are all wasted if 
the ball is just half a turn short of the opening, and there is 
nothing in the whole of the play between one tee and the 
next more exasperating than the long putt which hesitates 



SIMPLE PUTTING 149 

and stops on the very lip of the hole. There is another very 
good reason for always playing very well up to the hole, 
which may not have occurred to all golfers who read these 
lines. Suppose that in the exercise of this rule about 
always being up at any cost, too much has been put into the 
ball, and, refusing to die when it ought to do, it skips over 
the hole and comes to a standstill several inches beyond. 
"That's the result of being up!" exclaims the irritated 
golfer. But he feels at any rate that he has given the hole 
the chance for which it asked, and has a far greater sense of 
satisfaction and of duty done than if the ball had stopped a 
foot or more short of the place that was made for it. This 
may be the reason why an eighteen-inch or two-feet putt 
back to the hole from the far side always seems easier and is 
less frequently missed than a putt of the same distance from 
the original side, which is merely making up for the shortage 
in the first putt. Whether that is the reason or not, there 
is the fact, and though they may not have considered the 
matter hitherto, I feel confident that on reflection, or when 
they take note of future experiences, most of my readers will 
admit that this is so. It is a final argument for playing to 
the back of the hole and never being short. One of the 
greatest worries of the glorious life of old Tom Morris was 
that for a long time when in the middle of his career he was 
nearly always short with his long putts, and his son, young 
Tom, used wickedly to say that his father would be a great 
putter if the hole were always a yard nearer. Tom, I believe, 
was always conscious of his failing, and made the most 
strenuous efforts to correct it, and this only shows what a 
terrible and incurable habit this one of being short can 
become, and what necessity there is for the golfer to exercise 
his strength of mind to get rid of it in his early days, and 
establish the practice of being up every time. Often enough 
he will run over, but sometimes the kind hole will gobble the 
ball, and on the average he will gain substantially over the 
nervous, hesitating player who is always short. 



CHAPTER XIV 
COMPLICATED PUTTS 

Problems on undulating greens — The value of practice — Difficulties of calculation 
— The cut stroke with the putter — How to make it — When it is useful — 
Putting against a sideways slope — A straighter line for the hole — Putting 
down a hill — Applying drag to the ball — The use of the mashie on the 
putting green — Stymies — When they are negotiable and when not — The 
wisdom of playing for a half — Lofting over the stymie — Running through 
the stymie — How to play the stroke, and its advantages — Fast greens for 
fancy strokes— On gauging the speed of a green. 

NOW we will consider those putts in which it is not all 
plain sailing from the place where the ball lies to the 
hole. The line of the putt may be uphill or it may be down- 
hill, or the green may slope all the way from one side to the 
other, or first from one and then the other. There is no end 
to the tricks and difficulties of a good sporting green, and 
the more of them the merrier. The golfer's powers of cal- 
culation are now in great demand. 

Take, to begin with, one of the most difficult of all putts 
— that in which there is a more or less pronounced slope 
from one side or the other, or a mixture of the two. In 
this case it would obviously be fatal to putt straight at the 
hole. Allowances must be made on one side or the other, 
and sometimes they are very great allowances too. I have 
found that most beginners err in being afraid of allowing 
sufficiently for the slope. They may convince themselves 
that in order to get near the hole their ball should be a yard 
or so off the straight line when it is half-way along its course, 
and yet, at the last instant, when they make the stroke their 
nerve and resolution seem to fail them, and they point the 

160 



COMPLICATED PUTTS 151 

ball but a few inches up the slope, with the result that before 
it reaches the hole it goes running away on the other side 
and comes to a standstill anything but dead. Putting prac- 
tice on undulating greens is very valuable, not so much 
because it teaches the golfer exactly what allowance he 
should make in various cases, but because it helps by 
experience to give him the courage of his convictions. It is 
impossible to give any directions as to the precise allowance 
that should be made, for the simple reason that this varies in 
every case. The length of the putt, the degree of slope, and 
the speed of the green, are all controlling factors. The 
amount of borrow, as we term it, that must be taken from 
the side of any particular slope is entirely a matter of 
mathematical calculation, and the problem will be solved to 
satisfaction most frequently by the man who trains himself 
to make an accurate and speedy analysis of the controlling 
factors in the limited amount of time available for the pur- 
pose. The putt is difficult enough when there is a pro- 
nounced slope all the way from one particular side, but the 
question is much more puzzling when it is first one and then 
the other and then perhaps a repetition of one or both. To 
begin with, there may be a slope of fifteen degrees from the 
right, so the ball must go away to the right. But a couple 
of yards further on this slope may be transformed into one 
of thirty degrees the other way, and after a short piece of 
level running the original slope, but now at twenty degrees, 
is reverted to. What in the name of golf is the line that 
must be taken in a tantalising case of this kind ? It is plain 
that the second slope if it lasts as long as the first one more 
than neutralises it, being steeper, so that instead of borrowing 
from the first one we must start running down it in order to 
tackle the second one in good time. But the third slope 
again, to some extent, though not entirely, neutralises the 
second, and this entirely upsets the calculation which only 
included the first two. It is evident that the first and third 
hold the advantage between them, and that in such a case as 



152 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

this we should send the ball on its journey with a slight 
borrow from the first incline with which it had to contend. 
As I have just said, in these complicated cases it is a ques- 
tion of reckoning pure and simple, and then putting the ball 
in a straightforward manner along the line which you have 
decided is the correct one. 

But there are times when a little artifice may be resorted 
to, particularly in the matter of applying a little cut to the 
ball. There is a good deal of billiards in putting, and the 
cut stroke on the green is essentially one which the billiard 
player will delight to practise. But I warn all those who 
are not already expert at cutting with the putter, to make 
themselves masters of the stroke in private practice before 
they attempt it in a match, because it is by no means easy 
to acquire. The chief difficulty that the golf student will 
encounter in attempting it will be to put the cut on as he 
desires, and at the same time to play the ball with the 
proper strength and keep on the proper line. It is easy 
enough to cut the ball, but it is most difficult, at first at 
all events, to cut it and putt it properly at the same time. 
For the application of cut, turn the toe of the putter slightly 
outwards and away from the hole, and see that the face of 
the club is kept to this angle all the way through the stroke. 
Swing just a trifle away from the straight line outwards, 
and the moment you come back on to the ball draw the club 
sharply across it. It is evident that this movement, when 
properly executed, will give to the ball a rotary motion, 
which on a perfectly level green would tend to make it run 
slightly off to the right of the straight line along which it 
was aimed. Here, then, the golfer may arm himself with 
an accomplishment which may frequently prove of valuable 
service. He may dodge a stymie or circumvent an incon- 
venient piece of the green over which, without the cut, the 
ball would have to travel. But most frequently will the 
accomplished putter find the cut of use to him when there is 
a pronounced slope of the green from the right-hand side of 



COMPLICATED PUTTS 153 

the line of the putt. In applying cut to the ball in a case of 
this kind, we are complicating the problem by the intro- 
duction of a fourth factor to the other three I have named, 
but at the same time we are diminishing the weight of these 
others, since we shall enable ourselves to putt more directly 
at the hole. Suppose it is a steep but even slope all the 
way from the ball to the hole. Now, if we are going to putt 
this ball in the ordinary manner without any spin on it, we 
must borrow a lot from the hill, and, as we shall at once 
convince ourselves, the ball must be at its highest point 
when it is just half-way to the hole. But we may borrow 
from the slope in another way than by running straight up 
it and straight down again. If we put cut on the ball, it will 
of itself be fighting against the hill the whole way, and 
though if the angle is at all pronounced it may not be able 
to contend against it without any extra borrow, much less 
will be required than in the case of the simple putt up the 
hill and down again. Now it must be borne in mind that 
it is a purely artificial force, as it were, that keeps the ball 
from running down the slope, and as soon as the run on the 
ball is being exhausted and the spin at the same time, 
the tendency will be not for the ball to run gradually down 
the slope — as it did in the case of the simple putt without 
cut — but to surrender to it completely and run almost 
straight down. Our plan of campaign is now indicated. 
Instead of going a long way up the hill out of our straight 
line, and having but a very vague idea of what is going to 
be the end of it all, we will neutralise the effect of the slope 
as far as possible by using the cut and aim to a point much 
lower down the hill — how much lower can only be deter- 
mined with knowledge of the particular circumstances, and 
after the golfer has thoroughly practised the stroke and 
knows what he can do with it. And instead of settling 
upon a point half-way along the line of the putt as the 
highest that the ball shall reach, this summit of the ascent 
will now be very much nearer to the hole, quite close to it in 



154 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

fact. We putt up to this point with all the spin we can 
get on the ball, and when it reaches it the forward motion 
and the rotation die away at the same time, and the ball 
drops away down the hill, and, as we hope, into the hole 
that is waiting for it close by. Now, after all this explana- 
tion, it may really seem that by using the cut in a case 
of this kind we are going about the job in the most difficult 
manner, but when once the golfer has made himself master 
of this cut stroke, and has practised this manner of attacking 
slopes, he will speedily convince himself that it is the easier 
and more reliable method — certainly more reliable. It seems 
to be a great advantage to be able to keep closer to the 
straight line, and the strength can be more accurately 
gauged. The diagram which I have drawn on this page 



JU i »jLixP-iiiiJ ii n 1 miii iii r i iL i .Oj:nLri i ij»jMaw;ifr i ' i I „mu t m <^ ■ « ■ j i »i»m_LJ4u ..i. u i j i 

PUTTING WITH CUT ON A SLOPING GREEN. 

shows relatively the courses taken by balls played in the 
two different styles, and will help to explain my meaning. 
The slope is supposed to be coming from the top of the 
page, as it were, and the plain curved line is the course taken 
by the ball which has had no cut given to it, while that which 
is dotted is the line of the cut ball. I am giving them both 
credit for having been played with the utmost precision, so 
that they would find their way to the tin. I submit all these 
remarks as an idea, to be followed up and elaborated in much 
practice, rather than as a definite piece of instruction, for 
the variety of circumstances is so bewildering that a fixed 
rule is impossible. 

One of the putting problems which strike most fear into 
the heart of the golfer is when his line from the ball to 
the hole runs straight down a steep slope, and there is some 



COMPLICATED PUTTS 155 

considerable distance for the ball to travel along a fast 
green. The difficulty in such a case is to preserve any 
control over the ball after it has left the club, and to make it 
stop anywhere near the hole if the green is really so fast and 
steep as almost to impart motion of itself. In a case of this 
sort I think it generally pays best to hit the ball very nearly 
upon the toe of the putter, at the same time making a 
short quick twitch or draw of the club across the ball 
towards the feet. Little forward motion will be imparted 
in this manner, but there will be a tendency to half lift the 
ball from the green at the beginning of its journey, and 
it will continue its way to the hole with a lot of drag upon 
it. It is obvious that this stroke, to be played properly, will 
need much practice in the first place and judgment after- 
wards, and I can do little more than state the principle upon 
which it should be made. But oftentimes, when the slope of 
the green is really considerable, and one experiences a sense 
of great risk and danger in using the putter at all, I strongly 
advise the use of the iron or mashie ; indeed, I think most 
golfers chain themselves down too much to the idea that the 
putter, being the proper thing to putt with, no other club 
should be used on the green. There is no law to enforce the 
use of the putter, but even when the idea sometimes occurs 
to a player that it would be best to use his mashie on the 
green in particular circumstances, he usually rejects it as 
improper. On a steep incline it pays very well to use a 
mashie, for length in these circumstances can often be 
judged very accurately, and, the ball having been given 
its little pitch to begin with, does not then begin to roll 
along nearly so quickly as if the putter had been acting 
upon it. There are times, even when the hole is only a 
yard away, when it might pay best to ask for the mashie 
instead of the instrument which the caddie will offer. 

Upon the very difficult and annoying question of stymies 
there are few hints that I can offer which will not suggest 
themselves to the player of a very little experience. The 



156 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

fact which must be driven home is that some stymies are 
negotiable and others are not — not by any player or by any 
method. When the ball that stymies you dead is lying on 
the lip of the hole and half covering it, and your own is 
some distance away, the case is, to all intents and purposes, 
hopeless, but if you have only got this one stroke left for the 
half, you feel that an effort of some kind must be made, 
however hopeless it may be. The one chance — and even 
that is not always given — is to pass the other ball so very 
closely that yours will touch the rim of the hole and then, 
perhaps, if it is travelling slowly enough, be influenced 
sufficiently to tumble in. Luck must necessarily have a lot 
to do with the success of a stroke of this kind, and the one 
consolation is that, if it fails, or if you knock the other ball 
in — which is quite likely — things will be no worse than 
they appeared before you took the stroke. If, in the case 
of a dead and hopeless stymie of this kind, you had two 
strokes for the half and one for the hole, I should strongly 
advise you to give up all thoughts of holing out, and make 
quite certain of being dead the first time and getting the 
half. Many golfers are so carried away by their desire to 
snatch the hole from a desperate position of this sort, that 
they throw all prudence to the winds, attempt the im- 
possible, and probably lose the hole at the finish instead 
of halving it. They may leave themselves another stymie, 
they may knock the other ball in, or they may be anything 
but dead after their first stroke, — indeed, it is when defying 
their fate in this manner that everything is likely to happen 
for the worst. 

The common method of playing a stymie is by pitching 
your ball over that of your opponent, but this is not always 
possible. All depends on how near the other ball is to the 
hole, and how far the balls are apart. If the ball that 
stymies you is on the lip and your own is three yards away, 
it is obvious that you cannot pitch over it. From such 
a distance your own ball could not be made to clear the 



COMPLICATED PUTTS 157 

other one and drop again in time to fall into the tin. But, 
when an examination of the situation makes it clear that 
there is really space enough to pitch over and get into the 
hole, take the most lofted club in your bag — either a highly 
lofted mashie or even a niblick — and when making the little 
pitch shot that is demanded, apply cut to the ball in the way 
I have already directed, and aim to the left-hand side of the 
tin. The stroke should be very short and quick, the blade 
of the club not passing through a space of more than nine 
inches or a foot. The cut will make the ball lift quickly, 
and, with the spin upon it, it is evident that the left-hand 
side of the hole is the proper one to play to. Everything 
depends upon the measurements of the situation as to 
whether you ought to pitch right into the hole or to pitch 
short and run in, but in any case you should pitch close up, 
and in a general way four or five inches would be a fair 
distance to ask the ball to run. When your own ball is 
many yards away from the hole, and the one that makes the 
stymie is also far from it as well as far from yours, a pitch 
shot seems very often to be either inadequate or impossible. 
Usually it will be better to aim at going very near to the 
stymie with the object of getting up dead, making quite 
certain at the same time that you do not bungle the whole 
thing by hitting the other ball, or else to play to the left 
with much cut, so that with a little luck you may circle into 
the hole. Evidently the latter would be a somewhat hazard- 
ous stroke to make. 

There is one other way of attacking a stymie, and that is 
by the application of the run-through method, when the ball 
in front of you is on the edge of the hole and your own is 
very close to it — only just outside the six inches limit that 
makes the stymie. If the balls are much more than a foot 
apart, the " follow-through method " of playing stymies is 
almost certain to fail. This system is nothing more than 
the follow-through shot at billiards, and the principles upon 
which the strokes in the two games are made are much the 



158 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

same. Hit your own ball very high up, — that is to say, put 
all the top and run on it that you can, and strike the other 
ball fairly in the centre and fairly hard. The object is to 
knock the stymie right away over the hole, and to follow 
through with your own and drop in. If you don't hit hard 
enough you will only succeed in holing your opponent's ball 
and earning his sarcastic thanks. And if you don't get top 
enough on your own ball you will not follow through, however 
hard you bang up against the other. This is a very useful 
stroke to practise, for the particular kind of stymie to which 
it applies occurs very frequently, and is one of the most 
exasperating of all. 

Most of these fancy putting strokes stand a very poor 
chance of success on a very slow green. Cut and top and 
all these other niceties will not work on a dull one. It is 
the sharp, fiery green that comes to the rescue of the 
resourceful golfer in circumstances such as we have been 
discussing. It seems to me that golfers in considering their 
putts very often take too little pains to come to an accurate 
determination of the speed of the greens. There are a score 
of changing circumstances which affect that speed, but it 
frequently happens that only a casual glance is given to the 
state of the turf, and the rest of the time is spent in con- 
sidering the distance and the inclines that have to be con- 
tended against. The golfer should accustom himself to 
making a minute survey of the condition of things. Thus, 
to how many players does it occur that the direction in 
which the mowing machine has been passed over it makes 
an enormous difference to the speed of the particular piece 
of the green that has to be putted over ? All the blades of 
grass are bent down in the direction that the machine has 
taken, and their points all face that way. Therefore the ball 
that is being putted in the opposite direction encounters all 
the resistance of these points, and in the aggregate this 
resistance is very considerable. On the other hand, the ball 
that has to be putted in the same direction that the machine 



COMPLICATED PUTTS 159 

went has an unusually smooth and slippery surface to glide 
over. It is very easy to see which way the machine has 
gone. On a newly-cut green there are stripes of different 
shades of green. The points of the grass give the deeper 
tints, and therefore the machine has been coming towards 
you on the dark stripes, and along them you must putt 
harder than on the others. 

The variety of the circumstances to be taken into con- 
sideration render putting on undulating greens very attract- 
ive to the man who makes a proper and careful study of 
this part of the game, as every player ought to do. 



CHAPTER XV 
SOME GENERAL HINTS 

Too much golf — Analysis of good strokes — One's attitude towards one's op- 
ponent — Inaccurate counting of strokes — Tactics in match play — Slow 
couples on the course — Asking for halves — On not holing out when the 
half is given — Golfing attire — Braces better than belts — Shoes better than 
boots — Plow the soles should be nailed — On counting your strokes — Insist- 
ing on the rules — Play in frosty weather — Chalked faces for wet days — 
Against gloves — Concerning clubs — When confidence in a club is lost — 
Make up your mind about your shot — The golfer's lunch — Keeping the eye 
on the ball — The life of a rubber-core — A clean ball — The caddie's advice- 
Forebodings of failure — Experiments at the wrong time — One kind of golf 
at a time — Bogey beaten, but how ? — Tips for tee shots — As to pressing — 
The short approach and the wayward eye — Swinging too much — For those 
with defective sight — Your opponent's -caddie — Making holes in the bunkers 
— The golfer's first duty — Swinging on the putting greens — Practise difficult 
shots and not easy ones, etc. 

THE following are detached suggestions, each of which, 
I think, is of value and importance. In most cases 
they are such as I have not had an opportunity of making 
in any other chapter ; but in a few others they are repetitions 
of former injunctions, for the sake of further emphasis : — 

Don't play too much golf if you want to get on in the 
game. Three rounds a day are too much for any man, and 
if he makes a practice of playing them whenever he has the 
opportunity, his game is sure to suffer. He often says that 
his third round is the best of the day. But what about the 
first next morning? Two rounds a day are enough, and 
these two rounds on three days of the week are as much 
golf as is good for any player who does not want to become 
careless and stale. 

160 



SOME GENERAL HINTS 161 

Remember that the player who first settles down to the 
serious business of a hard match has the advantage. In a 
majority of cases concentrated purpose is the secret of 
victory. 

You must be thoughtful if you want to get on in golf. 
Most players when they make an exceptionally good stroke 
gaze delightedly at the result, and then begin to talk about it 
to their opponent and the caddie. They rarely give a thought 
as to exactly how they did it, though it must be obvious 
that for that good result to have been obtained the stroke 
must have been played in a particularly correct and able 
manner. Unless by pure accident, no good ever comes of a 
bad stroke. When you have made a really wonderfully good 
shot — for you — bring yourself up sharply to find out exactly 
how you did it. Notice your stance, your grip, and try to re- 
member the exact character of the swing that you made and 
precisely how you followed through. Then you will be able 
to do the same thing next time with great confidence. 
Usually when a player makes a really bad stroke you see 
him trying the swing over again — without the ball — wonder- 
ing what went wrong. It would pay him much better to do 
the good strokes over again in the same way every time he 
makes them, so as to impress the method of execution firmly 
upon his mind. 

Don't praise your own good shots. Leave that function 
to your partner, who, if a good sort, will not be slow in per- 
forming it. His praise will be more discriminating and 
worth more than yours. And don't say spiteful and unkind 
things about his good shots, or be continually talking about 
his luck. If you do he will hate you before the game is 
over. 

When a hole is being keenly contested, and you look as 
though you are having the worst of it, try not to appear 
II 



162 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

pleased when your opponent makes a bad stroke or gets 
into serious trouble, however relieved or even delighted you 
may feel. It is human nature to feel the better for your 
opponent's mistake in a crisis of this kind, but it is not good 
manners to show that you feel it. And, however well you 
may know your friend, it is not half so funny as you think 
it is to laugh at such a time or shout out that you rejoice. 
It is simply bad taste, for your opponent at that time 
is suffering from a sense of keen disappointment, and is 
temporarily quite unable to appreciate jokes of this kind. 
He is inclined to think he has been mistaken in you all 
along, and that you are much less of a gentleman and a 
sportsman than he had imagined. 

If he is playing several more in a vain endeavour to 
extricate himself from a bunker, do not stand near him and 
audibly count his strokes. It would be justifiable homicide 
if he wound up his pitiable exhibition by applying his 
niblick to your head. It is better to pretend that you do 
not notice these things. On the other hand, do not go out of 
your way to say that you are sorry when these misfortunes 
happen. Such expressions imply a kind of patronage for 
which your opponent will not thank you, and he knows all 
the time that you do not really mean it, and therefore infers 
that you are a hypocrite. The best golf is that which is 
played in comparative silence. 

At the beginning of a match do not worry yourself with 
the idea that the result is likely to be against you. By 
reflecting thus upon the possibilities of defeat one often 
becomes too anxious and loses one's freedom of style. 

Take more risks when you are down to your opponent 
than when you are up on him. If you play a difficult shot 
successfully, the circumstance will probably have some effect 
upon the other man. 



SOME GENERAL HINTS 163 

It is a mistake continually to exercise extreme caution. 
One's play is severely cramped by an excess of care. 

Try, whenever possible, to make matches with opponents 
who are at least as good, if not better than yourself. This 
will do your game more good than playing with an inferior 
player against whom you will always be liable to play in 
a careless manner. 

Always make an effort to improve your game, and do 
not content yourself with the idea that you go out on the 
links for the exercise only. It is no more difficult or less 
pleasant trying to play better than it is to go on continually 
in the same old way. 

When making a match, do not try to get a greater allow- 
ance of strokes than that to which you are entitled on your 
handicap, alleging to your opponent that the said handicap 
is an unfair one. Your opponent may think you are a little 
too " keen " ; and if he grants your improper request, and j^ou 
should then win the match, he may think some other things 
besides. 

Remember that more matches are lost through careless- 
ness at the beginning than through any other cause. Always 
make a point of trying to play the first hole as well as you 
have ever played a hole in your life. The favourite saying 
of some players, " I never try to win the first hole," is the 
most foolish thing ever said in connection with the game of 
golf. Win as many holes as you can in the early part of 
the game. They may be useful for you to fall back upon 
later on. 

Try to avoid an unnecessary expenditure of nerve force 
by treating your adversary — with all due respect to him — 
as a nonentity. Whatever brilliant achievements he may 



164 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

accomplish, go on quietly playing your own game. There 
is always the probability that sooner or later he will make 
enough mistakes to bring him back to you. It is the 
steadier player who plays his own game from the first tee 
to the last green, and who never allows himself to be upset 
by anything that happens, who wins the match. 

Never hurry when playing a match or a medal round, 
or indeed any kind of golf. Haste will affect your nerves 
and spoil your play. The record tor playing a round 
in the shortest possible space of time is not worth the 
holding. Take time enough, but don't be unnecessarily 
slow. 

If from any cause whatever you are playing a very slow 
game, don't miss an opportunity of inviting the couple 
behind you to pass. It will please them, and will be far more 
comfortable for you. But if your match is behind a slow one, 
do not be offensive in pressing upon the match in front by 
making rude remarks and occasionally playing when they 
are within range. You do not know what troubles they are 
enduring. Remember the story of the old player, who, on a 
ball being driven past him by the couple behind, sent his 
caddie with his card to the offender, and with it the message, 
" Mr. Blank presents his compliments, and begs to say that 
though he may be playing slowly he can play a devil of a 
lot more slowly if he likes ! " 

Be careful that you always stand on the proper side of 
the tee when your opponent is preparing to drive. At this 
most anxious moment for your friend do not be practising 
your own swing or move about or talk. You would be 
intensely annoyed with him if he did these things when 
you were driving. If he lost the match through a foozled 
drive, he would be justified in saying that you did not play 
the game. 



SOME GENERAL HINTS 165 

In playing through the green, avoid as far as possible 
getting in your opponent's line of sight when he is making 
his stroke. Also do not stand so near to him that he can 
see you through the corner of his eye when he is taking 
his swing. 

Do not get into the habit of asking for a half on the 
putting green when in your own opinion you are lying dead 
and have one stroke left for the half. You may not be as 
dead as you think, and your opponent may not consider you 
are dead at all. He naturally wonders why you ask for the 
half when it would be so easy to putt the ball. It would be 
excusable if he were to offer to make you a present of the 
ball you have on the match. These propositions about the 
giving of halves should invariably come from the other side. 
Besides, when you have asked for a half and your opponent 
says " No ; putt it out," you not only look foolish, but you 
are so irritated that you may very likely miss the putt 
Then you will look more foolish than ever, and the next 
thing you will lose is the match. 

But when your opponent of his own free will says, " I 
will give you that," meaning the little putt for the half, show 
your appreciation of his confidence in your putting by 
picking up the ball and saying no more about it. Don't 
insist on putting the ball into the hole either with one hand 
or in any other way. You are sure to be playing carelessly ; 
and suppose you fail to hole ? Your opponent said he gave 
you the half, and yet you failed afterwards to get it when 
you insisted on playing. Of course you have a right to the 
half that he gave you, but you will have an uneasy con- 
science, and your friend will be sorry that he was so 
generous. Also, when you have carelessly missed a six- 
inch putt for the half, do not remark to your opponent, as 
some players do, " Of course, if you insist upon it, I will 
give you the hole." It is no question of insistence; it is 



166 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

the rule of the game. I say, stick to the rules of the 
game. 

Never use long headed clubs. The shorter headed clubs 
are easier to play with and are more accurate. 

Do not wear too tightly fitting clothes. Particularly be 
careful to see that there is plenty of spare cloth under the 
arms. Tightness here, where there should be the utmost 
freedom, means the wholesale ruination of what would 
otherwise have been good strokes. 

Always use braces in preference to a belt round the 
waist. I never play with a belt. Braces seem to hold the 
shoulders together just as they ought to be. When a man 
plays in a belt he has an unaccustomed sense of looseness, 
and his shoulders are too much beyond control. It is a 
mistake to imagine you can swing better with a belt than 
with braces. For the same reason I do not advise a golfer 
to play without his coat, even on the warmest day, if he 
wants to play his best game. 

Whenever possible, use shoes for golfing instead of boots. 
They allow more freedom to the ankles, and make it much 
easier to pivot on the toes. Keep the leather of your boots 
and shoes soft and pliable. Apply dubbin to them in the 
winter. 

Take care that there are plenty of nails on the soles of 
your boots and shoes, and that they are in good condition 
and the heads not worn away. Nails in this state are 
almost useless, and create a great tendency towards slipping. 
Aluminium nails, though very light, wear away too quickly, 
and have a tendency to drop out. I do not like big nails of 
any description, nor do I favour small ones arranged in 
clusters. Those that I prefer have round heads about the 



SOME GENERAL HINTS 



167 



size of a small pea, and are fluted down the sides. I have 

the soles and heels of my boots freely studded with these, 

and always according to the same system. 

There are twenty-five nails on the sole of 

each boot and fourteen on each heel, and 

they are arranged as in the accompanying 

diagram. It will be observed that there are 

plenty of nails in the fore part of the sole 

on which the pivoting is done, and where 

there is the greatest tendency to slip. 

Do not get into the habit of counting 
your strokes from the beginning of the round 
in every match that you play, in the hope 
that each time you may be able to beat your 
own record for the course. If you do so, and 
play one or two bad holes to begin with, you 
will suffer from a sense of disappointment which may 
have a bad effect upon your play for the remainder of the 
game. 




NAILS IN 

GOLFING BOOTS 

AND SHOES. 



Obtain a thorough knowledge of the rules of the game, 
always play strictly according to them, and adhere rigidly to 
the etiquette of golf. When you insist upon the rules being 
applied to yourself, even to your own disadvantage, you are 
in a stronger position for demanding that your opponent 
shall also have the same respect for them. When play is 
always according to the rules, with no favour shown on 
either side, the players know exactly where they are. When 
the rules are occasionally overthrown, difficulties and dis- 
satisfaction constantly ensue. 



When playing in frosty weather, do not take it for 
granted that because the greens are hard they are also fast. 
Unless the greens were exceedingly smooth when the frost 
began, they will be covered with an abundance of little 



168 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

frozen knobs and pimples which greatly retard the progress 
of the ball. 



In wet weather it is a good thing to carry a piece of 
chalk in your pocket, and to rub the face of the driver and 
brassy with it each time before making a stroke. It prevents 
the ball from skidding. 

Unless you have a very good and special reason for doing 
so, do not play in gloves. The grip is seldom so secure and 
exact as when it is effected with the bare hands. 

Always use the club that takes the least out of you. 
Play with an iron instead of forcing your shot with a mashie. 
Never say, " Oh, I think I can reach it with such and such 
a club." There ought never to be any question of your 
reaching it, so use the next more powerful club in order that 
you will have a little in hand. It will be easier, and the 
result will be much better, or at least it ought to be. 

Never use thick handle grips. They place weight at the 
wrong end of the club. I like the thinnest I can get. I do 
not advise playing with rubber grips if they can be avoided. 
On a wet day they might be the cause of a lost match. 

Always use spliced in preference to socketed clubs. 
They are better in every way. 

Do not be tempted to invest in a sample of each new 
golfing invention as soon as it makes its appearance. If 
you do you will only complicate and spoil your game and 
encumber your locker with much useless rubbish. Of course 
some new inventions are good, but it is usually best to wait 
a little while to see whether any considerable section of the 
golfing public approves of them before rushing to a shop to 
order one. 



SOME GENERAL HINTS 169 

If you have completely lost confidence for the time 
being in any particular club, even though it may be one 
with which you have performed brilliantly in days gone by, 
leave it out of your bag altogether for a short season and 
try to forget all about it. The day will come before very 
long when you will feel that it is once more the very club 
you are wanting to make your game perfect, and you will 
rejoice to renew its acquaintance when you take it out of 
your locker. We can see too much of even our best friends. 

Always make up your mind definitely and finally before 
taking up your stance what club you are going to use 
and exactly the kind of shot that you want to play with it. 
When you have taken up your position but still ponder in 
a state of uncertainty, it is very probable that your mind will 
be affected by your hesitation, and then your swing and the 
result thereof will be bad. 

There are fewer certainties in golf than in any other 
game, and dogged pluck is rarely so well rewarded as on 
the links. 

If you are playing golf in the afternoon, do not lunch 
any more heavily that you feel to be necessary. A heavy 
lunch tends to take the keenness out of a golfer, and at the 
same time it has — what very few people suspect — a very 
serious effect upon the eye and its capacity for work. The 
golfer's eyes often give way to the strain that is put upon 
them long before his limbs. 

When we talk about keeping the eye on the ball, we do 
not mean the top of the ball. Your object is not to hit 
the top of the ball with the bottom of your club. For an 
ordinary stroke keep your attention fixed on the grass 
immediately behind the ball. This should result in the sole 
of your club sweeping evenly along the turf and taking the ball 





170 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

just as it ought to be taken. But there are special occasions, 
as when a low shot against the wind is wanted (fully 
explained in previous chapters), when it is desirable to hit 
the ball rather higher up. The eye should then be fixed on 
the edge of the ball just half-way up from the bottom to the 

top. The accompanying 
diagram shows exactly 
the points to be looked at 
when playing the different 
J jj — strokes. You may get in 

POINTS TO LOOK AT WHEN ADDRESSING good strokcs when look- 

THE BALL — (I.) FOR AN ORDINARY ■ ^ ^1^ ^ r ^^1^ t^ 11 

stroke; (II.) FOR A PUSH SHOT. ^"^ ^^ ^^^ ^°P °^ ^^^ '^^"» 

but it is only because you 
have accustomed yourself by long experience to make a small 
allowance for so doing. The practice is theoretically bad, 
and it is mainly the reason why beginners top their balls so 
frequently. Of course when you look down the side of it in 
the manner indicated, you have the ball always in view. 

The life of a rubber-cored ball does not always last as 
long as its shell, and its best driving capacity has often 
disappeared when there is scarcely a scratch upon it. 
Therefore, if you are playing in an important match with 
a ball that has already been used at a large number of holes, 
it may be advisable to put down a new one when long work 
with the driver and brassy is a vital necessity. A close 
watch for loss of shape should also be kept on these rubber- 
cored balls. They vary very much in this respect, and not 
only is it impossible to putt well with a ball that is not 
perfectly round, but it never flies so well as one which is 
quite true. 

Always use a clean ball, and carry a sponge to keep it 
clean with. It detracts from the pleasure of a game more 
than you may imagine if your ball is always dirty and 
cannot be seen from a distance. Besides, the eye is less 



SOME GENERAL HINTS 171 

strained when a clean white ball is played with, and there is 
less likelihood of foozled strokes. Moreover, your dirty ball 
is a constant irritation to your opponent. 

Don't act upon the advice of your caddie when you are 
convinced in your own mind that he is wrong. If you do 
so, you will very likely play the stroke hesitatingly and 
without confidence, and the result in these circumstances is 
seldom satisfactory. It is not impossible that the caddie 
knows less about the game than yourself, and, on the other 
hand, his views as to the best thing to do in a particular 
situation are often regulated by what he has seen the 
scratch men do at such times. You may not be a scratch 
man. 

When playing in a foursome, never forget that you have 
a partner. If you are the inferior player, make a rule, when 
in any doubt, of asking him what he would prefer you 
to do. 

When you are addressing the ball, and a conviction 
forces itself on your mind just before making the stroke 
that your stance or something else is radically wrong, do 
not be persuaded that it is best to get the stroke done with 
notwithstanding. In such circumstances it is almost certain 
to be a failure, and you will wish then that you had taken a 
fresh stance, as you knew you ought to have done, and made 
a proper job of it, even at the risk of annoying your partner 
by fiddling about on the tee. 

At a crisis in a match, some golfers, fighting desperately 
for victory or a half, give themselves up when on the tee to 
hideous thoughts of all the worst ways in which they have 
ever made that particular drive and of the terrible con- 
sequences that ensued. This is fatal. A golfer must never 
be morbid. If he cannot school himself to think that he 



172 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

is going to make the best drive of his life, just when it is 
most wanted, he should try not to think of anything 
at all. 

Don't try experimental shots on a new system when 
your opponent is dormy. It may be quite tiue that those 
you make on the old system are very bad, but you had 
better stick to them until the end of this match at any 
rate. 

Do not attempt to play two kinds of golf at the 
same time ; that is to say, if you are playing for a medal, 
do not keep up a hole-to-hole match with your partner. 
You will become confused, with no clear idea of what 
you are trying to do, and you will probably win neither 
the medal nor the match. If you feel that you must 
match yourself in some manner with the man who is 
going round with you, back your net return against 
his. 

Because you do a hole in bogey, or even sometimes in 
one stroke less, do not always take it for granted that you 
have therefore played perfect golf. Some bogeys are very 
easy, and some shots are very fluky. A man may miss his 
drive, run a bunker, and hole out with his mashie, beating 
bogey by a stroke. But he would be well advised not to 
say anything about it afterwards, lest he should be asked for 
details. Not the smallest credit attaches to him for this 
remarkable performance. 

Always play from a low tee, except when the wind is 
behind you. 

See that your head remains rigid, from the moment when 
you have finally taken up your position and are ready for 
your swing, until you have struck the ball. 



SOME GENERAL HINTS 17S 

In addressing, always oppose to the ball that part of the 
face of the club with which you want to hit it. 

Go slowly back, but be quick on the ball. But do not 
swing back too slowly or you will lose control over your 
club. Gain speed gradually. 

At the finish of the swing for a full shot, the right heel 
should be well up and the toe pointed downwards. The 
chest should then be facing the hole. But these and all 
similar movements should be quite natural. If they are 
forced they are useless and dangerous, and only indicate 
that your methods and your swing are altogether wrong. 
In such a dilemma study the photographs in this volume, 
particularly those that show you how you ought not to do 
the various strokes. If these do not provide you with a 
cure, consult the professional at your club. 

Don't press, but note the definition of pressing in 
Chapter VI. You can hit hard without pressing, which 
really means jumping at the ball. When your swing is 
working to perfection and you are full of confidence, you 
may let yourself go as much as you please. It is not true, 
as some golfers say, that a gently hit ball will travel as far 
as one which has been hit with much more force, but other- 
wise in precisely the same manner. 

You must be particularly on your guard against pressing 
— real pressing — when you are two or three holes down, and 
are becoming anxious about the match. Perfect confidence 
and a calm mind are necessary for the success of every 
stroke. 

Keep your eye on the side of the ball, particularly when 
you are near the hole and perhaps playing a little chip 
shot on to the green. There is a tendency at such a time, 



174 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

so great is the anxiety of the golfer to know whether he is 
laying himself dead or not, to take the eye from the ball and 
direct its attention to the pin before the downward swing is 
complete and the stroke has been made. But I do not 
approve of keeping the eye fixed upon the place where the 
ball lay, so that the grass is seen after the ball has departed. 
Keep your eye on the ball until you have hit it, but no 
longer. You cannot follow through properly with a long 
shot if your eye remains fastened on the ground. Hit the 
ball, and then let your eye pick it up in its flight as quickly 
as possible. Of course this needs skilful timing and manage- 
ment, but precision will soon become habitual. 

When you hit the small of your back with the head of 
your club in the upward swing, it is not so much a sign that 
you are swinging too far back as that your wrists are enjoy- 
ing too much play, that you are not holding your club with 
sufilicient firmness, and that your arms are thrown too much 
upwards. Try a tighter grip. Remember that the grip with 
both hands should be firm. That with the right hand should 
not be slack, as one is so often told. 

If your eyesight is not good and you are obliged to 
resort to artificial aids when playing the game, wear spec- 
tacles rather than eye-glasses, and specially made sporting 
spectacles in preference to any others. It is of the utmost 
importance that the glasses should not only be perfectly 
steady at all times, but that the rims should not be so near 
to the centre of vision as to interfere with it under any 
circumstances. The sporting spectacles which I recommend 
are similar to those used for billiards and shooting. The 
rims and the glasses are circular and not oval in shape, and 
they are unusually large — about i J inches in diameter. By 
the use of them the player is afforded a field of vision as 
wide as with the naked eye, so that practically he is not 
conscious that he is wearing glasses at all. The eye is a 



SOME GENERAL HINTS 175 

factor of such immense importance in the proper playing of 
golf, that this is a matter to be strongly insisted upon. My 
own eyesight is perfect, and I have never had occasion to 
resort to artificial assistance of it, but I adopt these sugges- 
tions from players of experience who have worn these glasses 
ana upon whose judgment I can rely. 

If you have no caddie, do not order your opponent's 
caddie about as if you were paying for his services. Any 
assistance that he may give you is an act of courtesy ex- 
tended to you by your opponent. 

Always fill in afterwards every hole that you make in a 
bunker. If all players do that, both you and the others will 
benefit constantly. 

Make a point of seeing that your caddie always replaces 
your divots, or replace them yourself if you have no caddie. 
This, as we all know, is a golfer's first duty. If your ball 
at any time came to rest in a hole where a divot had not 
been replaced, you would be extremely annoyed, would say 
hard things about the other players on the links, and would 
declare that the course was badly kept. 

Never practise swinging on the putting green. It is not 
good for the green, and the greenkeeper who takes a pride 
in the results of his work is not usually in the best of 
tempers when he sees you at this little game. 

When carrying your own clubs, do not throw the bag 
down on the greens. If you do so the toes of the iron clubs 
are certain to make marks, which neither improve the greens 
nor the game of the players who follow you. 

Never try your shots over again when there are other 
players behind you. It makes your partner uncomfortable, 



176 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

and he feels that he ought to apologise on your behalf to 
those who are kept waiting. 

When practising, use the club that gives you the most 
trouble, and do not waste your time in knocking a ball 
about with the tool that gives you the most satisfaction 
and with which you rarely make a bad stroke. 



CHAPTER XVI 
COMPETITION PLAY 

Its difficulties— Nerves are fatal — The philosophic spirit — Experience and steadi- 
ness — The torn card — Too much hurry to give up — A story and a moral — 
Indifference to your opponent's brilliance — Never slacken when up — The 
best test of golf — If golf were always easy — Cautious play in medal rounds — 
Risks to be taken — The bold game in match play — Studying the course — 
Risks that are foolishly taken — New clubs in competitions — On giving them 
a trial — No training necessary — As to the pipe and glass — How to be at 
one's best and keenest — On playing in the morning — In case of a late draw 
— Watch your opponents. 

IT is the same game whether it is match or medal play, 
and the same whether you are merely engaged in 
friendly rivalry with an old friend, with half a crown or 
nothing at all but the good game itself at stake, or testing 
your skill and giving rein to your ambition in a club or open 
tournament with gold medals and much distinction for the 
^final victors. But, same game as it is, how convinced have 
we all been at times that it is a very hard thing to play it 
always in the same way. How regularly does an evil fate 
seem to pursue us on those days when we are most desirous 
of doing ourselves full justice. Five times in a week will a 
golfer go round the course and beat bogey, reckoning after 
each performance that he has only to repeat it on Saturday 
to win the prize which he covets, with several strokes to 
spare. Then Saturday comes, and a sad falling off is there. 
By the time the sixth or seventh hole is reached, the all- 
important card has perhaps been torn up into little pieces 
and flung contemptuously into a convenient ditch. 

Of course much of this sort of thing is due to nervous- 

12 



178 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

ness, and there is no game in which full control of the nerves 
and extreme coolness are more necessary than in golf. 
Let the player be as keen as he likes — the keener the better 
— but if he is apt to become too anxious at the critical stage 
of a round or match, he is not the man who will ever win 
prizes in great competitions. He who is the most composed 
when in difficulties and when the game is going against him, 
and who treats each fresh trouble as it comes along as a 
part of the ordinary day's work to be surmounted in the 
best manner possible, is the player who will most frequently 
come out the conqueror. In many cases the tendency to 
fall into a highly nervous state at the smallest provocation 
will disappear with time and lengthening experience. Each 
year of golf should bring increasing steadiness, and the 
steadier a golfer becomes the more frequently will he do his 
best scores when they are most wanted. And so I must 
leave it to time and practice and the proper cultivation of 
the best methods to bring the ambitious beginner along into 
the front rank of his contemporaries. But still there are 
some useful hints which I may offer him and which may 
facilitate his progress towards the acquisition of medals and 
cups. 

To begin with, there is a little sermon to be preached on 
that torn card. " Nil desperandum " should always be the 
motto of the competition player, and it is a motto that will 
probably pay better in golf than in any other game. I think 
it is very likely that some scores of monthly medals have 
been lost through a too precipitate destruction of the scoring 
card when everything seemed to be going the wrong way. 
Every player should remember that it is indeed a perfect card 
that is without a blemish, and that on the other hand there 
are few rounds played by a man who knows anything about 
the game that are bad all through. But some men, because 
they have the misfortune to be debited with a couple of 8's 
in the first four or five holes, forthwith give up the ghost and 
rend their cards into small pieces with many and varied 



COMPETITION PLAY 179 

expressions of disgust. Thereafter they play well, and at the 
conclusion of the match are inclined to think that they were 
rather in too much of a hurry to be out of the competition in 
its early stages. If they had made a fine card for fourteen or 
fifteen holes from the beginning, they might have taken two 
8's towards the end much less seriously to heart. They would 
have said to themselves that at all events there were many 
very fine holes, and the misfortunes which came later were 
not sufficient to spoil their chances of success. Well, then, 
when these annoyances happen near the beginning, why not 
take a philosophical view of them and say that as they had 
to come it was best that they should come quickly and be 
done with, and then go on playing hole after hole coolly and 
properly until at the end it is found that the early mis- 
fortunes have been amply retrieved ? I am aware that this 
is very simple advice, and that it appears like a string of 
platitudes, but it is extremely sound and yet it is ignored 
on every medal day. Never, never tear up your card, for 
golf is indeed a funny game, and no man knows what is 
going to happen when it is being played. There are 
numberless historic instances to support this counsel, but I 
will quote only one which came under my personal observa- 
tion recently, and which to my mind is one of the most re- 
markable of all. It occurred at a London club. Six players 
were left in the final round for a cup competition, and the 
conditions of playing in this final were that a medal round 
should be played on two different Saturdays. On the first 
Saturday three of the players tore up their cards, and so 
only three remained to fight out the issue on the second 
Saturday. On this occasion one of the remaining three tore 
up his card very early, and soon afterwards a second did so 
each being unaware of the other's action, the third player 
being likewise ignorant of the fact that his rivals had dis- 
appeared from the contest, and that now, being the only 
man left in, he could make any return he liked and become 
the possessor of the cup. Presently he also fell into grievous 



180 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

difficulties, and was on the point of tearing up his card like 
the others, when the player who was marking for him 
stayed his hand. He had some idea of what had happened, 
and, bad score as his man's was, he insisted on its being 
completed, with the result of course that he was hailed as 
the winner of the tournament. He at all events would for 
the rest of his golfing days respect the moral which I have 
here endeavoured to convey ; and what must have been the 
reflections of the other competitors who threw up the sponge, 
when they discovered afterwards that if they had kept 
plodding along they would still have had an excellent 
chance ! 

Similarly in match-play competitions, do not get into the 
way of thinking that your chance is hopeless just because 
your opponent becomes two or three up on you, or even 
more than that, early in the game ; and, above all, do not 
alter your style of play in consequence. Nothing pays like 
your own best and steadiest game and a stolid indifference 
to all the brilliant things that your opponent is doing. It is 
unlikely that he will keep on doing them all through the 
game, and when the reaction comes you will speedily make 
up the leeway. There are many ups and downs in a game 
of golf; and when the players are at all evenly matched, and 
neither has lost his head, early differences have a way of 
regulating themselves before the game is very far advanced. 
No doubt it is disconcerting to be three down after only 
three have been played; but are there not fifteen still to 
come? But it often appears that an even greater danger 
awaits the inexperienced golfer than that of funk when 
things are going against him, in that he is too frequently 
apt to become careless when he has obtained a trifling 
advantage. Never slacken your efforts when you are two 
or three holes up, but continue to play with all your might 
and with an extreme of cautiousness until at last you are 
one more up than there are holes still to play, for not until 
then are you sure of victory. When a man has once held 



COMPETITION PLAY 181 

a good lead, but by playing carelessly has allowed his 
opponent to get on level terms with him again, the moral 
effect upon him is usually extremely bad. When this has 
happened he is inclined to regard himself not as still on 
equal terms with his opponent, but as having suffered a 
great loss and being in grave danger of defeat And this 
feeling is the prelude to actual defeat and the bitter self- 
accusations that must inevitably follow. I may have seemed 
to labour these simple points, but every old golfer will bear 
me out in saying that a proper regard for the essence of this 
advice is the first necessity for the man who covets honours 
in the golfing world. 

I say that all golf is the same, and no matter whether it 
is match or medal play, the simple object is to hole out each 
time in the fewest number of strokes ; but the fact that a 
single bad hole counts far more heavily against you in a 
medal round, where all the strokes are added together at the 
finish, than in match play, where the bad hole is simply one 
of eighteen, and in which there is only one man to be 
beaten, of whose performances you are a spectator, instead 
of an invisible field — this difference generally calls for a 
change in tactics, particularly on the part of the player who 
knows to a nicety his own capabilities and limitations. 
Score play is not, of course, so generally interesting as 
match play, and for this reason will never be so popular ; 
but from my point of view it is the best golf and the best 
test of golf; indeed, in these respects I think there is really 
no comparison between the two systems. Score play tests 
the qualities of both the golfer and the sportsman. If he 
makes a bad hole and drops two or three to bogey, he must 
not lose his temper, which proceeding is both useless and 
fatal, but must screw up his determination, and realise that 
if he can snatch a stroke from bogey at the next two or three 
holes, all will be just as well as ever. He must always be 
hopeful. If we never made a bad hole, were never set any 
difficult task, always did just what we tried to do — well, 



182 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

what then would be the use of playing golf? We should 
very soon ask ourselves this question, and as there would be 
no satisfactory answer to it, we should cease to play. The 
difficulties and the annoyances of golf are after all the things 
that make the game so attractive and render it so subtly 
fascinating. 

But all the same, when you are playing a medal round in 
a competition, give due consideration beforehand to this 
overwhelming fact, that bad holes do tell more heavily 
against you than in match play, and that when they are 
made they are not over and done with, but are on permanent 
record as faults to be atoned for before the round is com- 
pleted. When the score player sends his ball into a bunker, 
takes two to escape, and holes out in eight strokes instead 
of in five, his punishment is not completed at this stage, as 
in match play. The case is held over in view of what his 
future conduct may be. He is, in fact, ordered to come up 
for judgment if called upon. Now, to avoid the pain and 
anxiety of all this, I suggest to the player who takes out a 
card in a score competition, that he should make up his 
mind at the beginning of the round that from the first hole 
to the finish he will be more than usually cautious. By this 
I do not mean to say that he should always play the strict 
safety game, for the man who invariably plays for safety 
and nothing else will soon find his card running up very 
high. Certain risks must be taken ; but do not accept the 
very doubtful risks. In match play, I say always play the 
bold game. Go for everything that you can. If there is a 
bunker somewhere about the limit of your best possible 
carry, go for it. If you have a long putt for the hole, give 
the hole a chance, and either be in or beyond. But I do not 
suggest that these things should also be done in score-play 
competitions. If the hole is guarded by a bunker, and you 
have reason to fear that you cannot carry that bunker, it is 
in these circumstances a thousand times better to play short 
than to take the risk of putting your ball into it and mak- 



COMPETITION PLAY 183 

Ing a serious blot upon your card. Similarly, when on the 
putting green, and there is a long distance between your 
ball and the hole, bring your mind to realise that it is really 
of less importance that you should hole out in one stroke 
than that you should do so in not more than two, and 
therefore concentrate your whole energies on placing yourself 
dead for the second putt. Therefore I say, accept a risk 
now and then when there is a fairly good prospect of success, 
and when the reward for it will be commensurate with the 
danger that was incurred. 

The last-named is an important clause. The course 
should be studied hole by hole for medal play, and the 
competitor should come to an exact understanding with 
himself as to the things that must be done and what things 
need not be done. Thus it frequently happens that a player, 
seeing a bunker some distance in front of him but yet not 
quite out of his range, goes for it as a matter of course. 
Obviously he must incur a certain amount of risk, and it 
may happen that even if he carries it in safety he may not 
be better off at all than if he were ten or fifteen yards on the 
playing side. In either case it may be an easy shot to the 
green, and it may even happen that of the two the longer 
one would be the easier for this particular golfer. But it is 
quite likely that he never took any account of that when 
taking the risk of the bunker. Now this man is to be 
remonstrated with, for, with the best intentions, he has dis- 
played not courage but folly. He must realise that all 
bunkers are not of necessity to be carried with long shots. 
If all golfers played the same game, and always their best 
game, and, moreover, if all bunkers were placed in the 
proper places for bunkers, then it would be their duty to go 
for them every time. But either through the very good or 
the very bad shots that have gone before, we find that these 
carries vary very much, and, besides, the bunkers on all courses 
are certainly not placed exactly where they ought to be, and 
so for reckoning up the proper mode of play in order that 



184 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

the hole may be captured in the fewest possible number of 
strokes, they can sometimes for all practical purposes be 
disregarded. 

A golfer is often in an anxious state of mind when the 
day of a competition in which he wishes to do well arrives, 
and he is painfully conscious that he is completely off his 
play with one or other of his clubs, and has an abiding fear 
that it will bring him to grief. When he feels like this about 
the club, it will probably do so. Now the question is, whether 
at this crisis he shall take out a new one with which he is 
entirely unfamiliar and trust to luck with it, or put his faith 
once more in the instrument which of late has repeatedly 
spoilt his game. He is usually advised that in such circum- 
stances he should not indulge in any risky experiments, and 
that it is madness to take a new and untried club out with 
him when it is more or less imperative that he should play 
one of his best rounds. But I am not by any means sure 
that this advice is well founded. No golfer plays well with 
a club in which he has completely lost confidence. It may 
not be the fault of the club at all ; but there is the fact. On 
the other hand, the player is always possessed of a certain 
amount of hope when he takes a new implement in his 
hands. He has convinced himself beforehand, or at least 
ought to have done, that its points are just what he most 
admires, and that he is likely to do well with it. And so he 
probably will, even if it is only for a round or two. It is the 
confidence trick again. What I suggest, therefore, is that 
when this grave uncertainty exists about the kind of per- 
formance that will probably be made with one of the articles 
in the bag, and there is a new and good substitute ready at 
hand, the latter should not be disregarded because of a kind 
of instinct that in a big fight it is best to stick to the old 
weapons. Take the new one out with you, but do not call it 
into service for the first hole or two. During this preliminary 
stage give the old but disappointing favourite another chance 
to show that it will not desert you in the hour of need ; but 



COMPETITION PLAY 185 

if it fails to rise to the occasion and you blunder with it 
during the play at the first and second holes, pass sentence 
upon it forthwith and relegate it finally to your bag. Then at 
the third hole let the new one have its trial. Over and over 
again have I found this method succeed most wonderfully, 
and I am a particular believer in it in connection with 
putters. A golfer may have been putting badly for a long 
time, but directly he takes a new putter in his hand he feels 
that a great change for the better has been effected, and 
forthwith he begins to astonish himself by holing out from 
almost anywhere, or at least always getting his ball dead 
the first time. There is no accounting for these things. 
They seem very absurd. But there they are, and no doubt 
it will be agreed that a medal or a cup is worth a new putter 
any time. 

I do not believe in any sort of training for important 
golf matches. It is not necessary, and it generally upsets 
the man and throws him off his game. If he is a smoker let 
him smoke all the time, and if he likes an occasional glass of 
wine let him take it as usual. A sudden stoppage of these 
luxuries causes a feeling of irritation, and that is not good 
for golf. The game does not seem the same to you as it was 
before. For my part I am neither a non-smoker nor an 
abstainer, and I never feel so much at ease on the links and 
so fully capable of doing justice to myself as when smoking. 
But at the same time I believe in the most complete modera- 
tion. Only by the constant exercise of such moderation can 
that sureness of hand and eye be guaranteed which are 
absolutely necessary to the playing of good golf. On one 
occasion when I had a championship in view I stopped the 
tobacco for a short period beforehand, and I am bound to 
confess that the results seemed excellent, and perhaps some 
day I may repeat the experiment. But there was nothing 
sudden about the abstinence in this case, and by the time 
the big days came round I had become thoroughly accus- 
tomed to the new order of things, and the irritation had 



186 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

passed away. However, these are matters which every man 
may be left to decide for himself according to his own good 
common sense, and the only object I had in introducing 
them was to counsel the avoidance of sudden whims and 
freaks, which are never good for golf. 

Another question is how much or how little golf should 
be played beforehand when a man desires to give himself 
the best chance of playing his best game on a certain 
specified day. That depends largely upon how much golf 
he is in the habit of playing in the ordinary course. If he 
is a man who plays regularly, almost every day when it is 
fine, I think he will generally do far better for himself by 
abstaining altogether for a day or two before the competition. 
Then, when he goes out to play in it, he will experience a 
zest and keenness which will be very much in his favour. 
There is no danger that in this brief period of rest he will 
have forgotten anything that he knew before, but, on the 
other hand, he will have a greatly improved capacity for 
taking pains, and every stroke will be easy to him. His 
confidence will be refreshed. If he continues to play his 
round or two rounds every day right up to the date of the 
competition, he will undoubtedly be " over-golfed," will have 
a great tendency to fall into errors, and will be gener- 
ally careless. But if the would-be prize-winner is a man 
who has usually to content himself with week-end golf, it 
would be all in his favour if he could put in a day or two of 
practice before taking part in the big event. There will be 
no possibility of his becoming stale by so doing. 

When a competitor has the choice of playing his round 
either in the morning or the afternoon, I strongly advise him 
to select the former and get the thing over as soon as 
possible. I am positive that his chances of success are 
usually greater when he does so, especially if, in case of 
his electing to play in the afternoon, he has nothing par- 
ticularly to occupy his mind and attention in the interval 
except his prospects in the forthcoming contest. Golfers 



COMPETITION PLAY 187 

are freshest and keenest in the morning, their bodies and 
limbs are most vigorous and anxious for work, and — a very 
important consideration — their eyes are most to be depended 
upon. And it is not an unimportant consideration that there is 
no indigestible lunch to interfere with the perfect ease of mind 
and body which are necessary to the making of a good card. 
But often, particularly in the case of important open 
competitions, the times of starting are decided by lot, and 
the competitor, on arriving at the course, finds that he has 
to accept the disadvantages of a late draw, and must endure 
a period of waiting for his turn to tee up. It is best to 
dispose of these wearisome periods not in hanging about the 
tee or in the vicinity of the club-house, but by going out 
with one of the early couples, watching their methods, and 
making note of the exact manner in which their best holes 
are played. If the course is a strange one, the information 
which the watcher thus derives will be invaluable to him 
when he comes to play his own round, for he will now be 
possessed of the most excellent hints as to difficulties which 
demand special efforts to avoid, and of particular strokes which 
it is in the highest degree necessary to play well. Not until 
he has watched the play of others in this manner will the 
enormous significance of the position of a particular bunker 
be made clear to him ; he will discover the great danger of 
being short with certain strokes, and of overrunning the 
green at various holes. By thus watching other competitors' 
play he will probably learn more about the nature and 
peculiarities of the course and the way it is playing on 
this particular occasion, than if he were doing a round with 
his own clubs. Therefore, if there is time to be killed, this 
is most decidedly the way in which to kill it, and I may add 
that it is the method which I myself adopt on every possible 
occasion. I know that in championships and tournaments 
I have reaped great advantage in watching closely the play 
of my fellow-competitors, their triumphs and their failures, 
while waiting for my own turn to begin. 



CHAPTER XVII 
ON FOURSOMES 

The four-ball foursome — Its inferiority to the old-fashioned game — The case of 
the long-handicap man — Confusion on the greens — The man who drives 
last — The old-fashioned two-ball foursome — Against too many foursomes — 
Partners and each other — Fitting in their different games — The man to 
oblige — The policy of the long-handicap partner — How he drove and missed 
in the good old days — On laying your partner a stymie — A preliminary 
consideration of the round — Handicapping in foursomes — A too delicate 
reckoning of strokes given and received — A good foursome and the excite- 
ment thereof — A caddie killed and a hole lost — A compUment to a golfer. 

I THINK it IS to be regretted that the old-fashioned 
foursome, in which the respective partners play to- 
gether with the same ball, has so completely lost favour 
of late, and that it has been superseded to a large extent 
by the four -ball foursome. To my mind the old four- 
some provided a much more interesting and enjoyable 
game than its successor, and tended much more to the cul- 
tivation of good qualities in a golfer. It seems to me that 
this new four-ball game is a kind of mongrel mixture. It is 
played, I presume, because men feel that they would like to 
have a game of partners and yet are unwilling to sacrifice 
half the strokes of a round, as they do in the old game, and 
also because the man who is on his game desires all his 
power and brilliancy to count, and that they may not be in- 
terfered with by the possibly erratic procedure of his partner. 
But this is a selfish spirit, and quite opposed to that which 
should properly animate the men who play in combination. 
When a golfer is thus anxious for the display of his skill 
surely an ordinary single-bal) match is the proper thing for 

188 



ON FOURSOMES 189 

him. The four-ball foursome, I admit, has much to recom- 
mend it when the partners are equally matched, when both 
are really good players — more likely to do a hole in bogey 
than not — and when the course is clear and there is no 
prospect of their protracted game interfering with other 
players who may be coming up behind. When a short- 
handicap man is mated with a long one, the place of the 
latter in a foursome of the new kind is to my thinking not 
worth having. Is it calculated to improve his golf, or to 
afford him satisfaction of any kind whatever, if he plays 
his ball round in what is for him very good form, and yet 
only contributes the halving of a single hole as his share of 
the victory of the combination ? Very likely after such a 
game he will feel that he must fall back once more on that 
old excuse of the golfer for a disappointing day, that at all 
events he has had the fresh air and the exercise. The tast- 
ing of the pure atmosphere and the working of limb and 
muscle are splendid things, enough to justify any day and 
any game, but no golfer is heard to put them in the forefront 
of the advantages he has derived from his day's participation 
in the game unless the golf he has played has been miserably 
disappointing. This new foursome is also a selfish game, 
because it is generally played with too little regard for the 
convenience and feelings of other golfers on the links. It 
is very slow, and couples coming up behind, who do not 
always care to ask to be allowed to go through, are often 
irritated beyond measure as they wait while four balls are 
played through the green in front of them, and eight putts 
are taken on the putting green. The constant waiting puts 
them off their game and spoils their day. 

Another objection that I urge against this kind of game 
is, that even when there is nobody pressing behind and - 
there is no particular reason for hurry, there is a natural 
tendency on the part of each player to make haste so that 
he shall not delay the other three. This is the case all the 
way through the green, and particularly when the hole is 



190 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

reached and the putters are taken out. Then everybody's 
ball seems to be in the way of the others, there is continual 
lifting and replacing, more hurrying, and then, to make 
matters worse, there is a doubt as to what a man should do 
in order to help his side— whether he should hole out in one 
or two, or whether there is any use in holing out at all. 
Consequently his mind is in a confused state of reckoning and 
doubt when he makes his putt, and poor putt it is likely to 
be in such circumstances. Frequently, when a blind hole is 
being played, it needs a few minutes' close examination to 
decide which ball is which after the drive, unless each has 
been carefully marked to distinguish it from the others! 
As a final indictment against this species of golf, I would 
say that even when the partners are equally matched and 
both good players, there is still a tendency for their indi- 
vidual play to be spoiled, inasmuch as there is the feeling 
constantly present in the mind of each, that even if he does 
happen to do a bad hole it will not matter very much 
after all, as the other man is sure to come to the rescue. 
When it happens that just the same thought enters the 
brain of that other man, a lost hole is likely to be the result. 
Decidedly this is not the sort of game to improve the golfer's 
play. 

The four-ball foursome is so very like two single matches 
that there is little special advice to offer concerning the 
playing of it. One of the few special points to be observed 
by the player who is taking part in such a match is that, 
without being unduly selfish and grasping, he should as 
frequently as possible avoid being the last man of the 
four to make his drive from the tee. The man who drives 
last is at a very obvious disadvantage. In the first place, if 
he has seen the other three make really good drives, he is 
too much tempted to try to beat them all, and the usual 
result of such temptation is a bad stroke. On the other 
hand, if he has seen two or three foozles, it is quite possible 
that he will follow the bad example that has been set him. 



ON FOURSOMES 191 

Thus, whatever has happened before, the last man has no 
real encouragement offered to him. In addition to these 
objections, when three men have driven from the tee they 
are somewhat impatient to be moving on and playing their 
second shots, and in this mood they have little care for what 
happens to the last drive. They have already had quite 
enough of driving. The fourth man is quite conscious of 
this impatience on their part, even though it may not be 
openly expressed by the smallest sign. So he is in a hurry 
to oblige, and his effort is then disappointing. I seldom hit 
my best ball when I am driving fourth in a four-ball four- 
some. Of course somebody must drive last, but not neces- 
sarily the same man every time. All that I wish to suggest 
is, that a player should not be too self-sacrificing, and should 
not, with too much modesty about his own prowess on the 
tee, always volunteer to drive after his partner. 

The old-fashioned or two-ball foursome makes a really 
fine and enjoyable game. It brings golfers together on 
even more intimate and friendly relations than usual. 
Partners in a foursome see very deep down into the human 
nature of each other. They are overwhelmingly conscious 
of each other's faults and weaknesses. They are enormously 
dependent upon each other. At the same time I do not 
think that even this kind of foursome is the best thing in 
the world for the improvement of a man's game, and I ad- 
vise the young player to resist the temptation to take part 
in too many foursomes, to the neglect of ordinary match 
play in singles. For one thing, the partners, of course, only 
get half as much golf as they would if they were playing a 
round in a single match, and for another, they are too con- 
stantly anxious to play their best game. The sense of 
responsibility is frequently a little too much for their nerves, 
and you often see a man, a most dogged and persistent 
player in an ordinary match, who is a consistent failure in 
foursomes, and who in this style of game ought to be rated 
at six strokes higher handicap than his allowance for ordi- 



192 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

nary purposes. One feels in a foursome that one must be 
so very careful, and take so much extra pains, and when 
that feeling is uppermost in the mind while the stroke is 
being made, the result is often disastrous. 

It is unwise to interfere unduly with a partner's system 
of play while a match is in progress. He may be missing 
his drive because his stance is wrong or his swing is faulty, 
but the state of affairs would probably be worse than ever if 
an attempt were made to put him right while the game is 
going on. The hint will be more useful when the match is 
over. And if he has a particular fancy for playing his 
brassy, when experience tells you that an iron club should 
be taken, it will not generally pay to make the suggestion 
at the time. The man naturally takes the club with which 
he has most confidence and with which he believes he can 
make the shot that is wanted. It is fatal to interfere with 
confidence of this kind, and to substitute for it the hesitation 
and doubt which inevitably take possession of the man when 
he takes in his hands a weapon with which he rarely does 
well, and which, whatever you may tell him, he is convinced 
is utterly inadequate for the purposes of the situation. Let 
each man play the various strokes that have to be made in 
a foursome in his own way without interference, for nothing 
but chaos and a lost match can follow upon the enforcement 
upon each other of individual ideas and methods. 

This, of course, is not saying that each man should not 
play his game so that it may fit as well as possible into that 
of his partner. He may play with the club he particularly 
fancies, and play it in his own way, but there should be some 
sort of a general understanding about what he is going to do 
and the exact effect which his performance is likely to have 
upon the way the hole is played if everything happens 
according to programme. This makes it very desirable that 
the partners in a foursome match to which any importance 
is attached, should have more than a passing knowledge of 
each other's play, and of individual weaknesses and excel- 



ON FOURSOMES 193 

lences. One partner may be particularly good at making a 
fairly full iron shot, but shaky indeed when it comes to a 
little pitch with the mashie over the bunker that guards the 
green. It is clear, on reflection, that the chief part in this 
playing up to each other's game should be taken by the man 
who has the longer handicap, and is therefore the weaker 
all-round player. The scratch man, being a wise and experi- 
enced golfer, will naturally place his nervous i8-handicap 
friend in as few difficulties as he can, and will constantly 
exert himself to leave him a comparatively simple shot which 
he may be depended upon with some certainty to accomplish 
in a workmanlike fashion. But the junior player must 
remember that it behoves him to be the most careful and 
considerate in matters of this kind, for in an emergency it is 
generally the senior who must be depended upon to win the 
hole or pull the match out of the fire. Let him, therefore, 
impose upon himself a considerable measure of self-sacrifice, 
playing up to his partner for all he is worth, contented in the 
knowledge that he is doing the proper thing, and that, 
though he is sinking his own individuality and doing much 
of what can only be described as donkey work, he is being 
considerably honoured by being invited to play in such 
superior company. It is not always the place of the junior 
partner to take risks ; that is the prerogative of the senior. 
There may be a particular carry on the course which the 
young player is always doubtful about, but which when play- 
ing alone he constantly makes an attempt to accomplish, 
and very properly so. But if his effort is as often as not a 
failure — with the result that he is badly bunkered and the 
hole is lost — it would be madness for him to attempt the 
carry when he is playing in a foursome with a far better man 
than himself as his partner. He must depart from his usual 
custom, and play short for safety. It will be a great relief 
to his partner. Not lately, but in the early years of my 
experience, I have seen this principle carried to a curious 
excess. When there was a difficult carry from the tee, and 
^3 



194 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

an inferior player and short driver had the turn to make the 
stroke, I have seen his partner instruct him to miss the ball 
altogether — not tap it off the tee, but miss it. Thus the 
other man, presumably a good driver, had the ball left teed 
for him. These men reckoned between them that on an 
average it would prove of more advantage to be well over 
the far hazard in two strokes, than to take the risk of being 
short with the tee shot and possibly not getting over with 
the second or even the third. However, there is no doubt 
that performances of this kind were a violation of the spirit 
of golf. It is the game to hit the ball, and it is unsports- 
manlike to try to miss it. Nowadays the golfing world quite 
realises that this is the case. 

In the same way, in playing through the green and in 
putting, it must be the constant object of the junior to play 
the safety game and to feed his skilful partner with as many 
as possible of those strokes at which he is best. Do not let 
him try for a desperately long second, emulating the example 
which his partner set him on the tee, in the hope that he 
may land the ball on the green. He is not expected to do 
anything of the kind. If he should happen to be successful, 
his partner would know that it was not his usual custom, 
that he had played beyond himself, and that therefore there 
was something of the fluke in the stroke after all. He would 
be much more likely to fail and foozle, and then what a 
miserable golfer would he be! His obvious duty is to play 
a simple, easy stroke which will be practically certain of 
placing the ball in such a position that his partner will have 
no difficulty in getting on the green with his third. And on 
the putting green, when anything over ten feet distance 
intervenes between the ball and the hole, while always giving 
the latter a chance, he should remember that his first duty is 
to lay the ball dead. If he holes out, well and good, but his 
partner insists first of all that the ball should be laid dead. 
At this crisis, also, he should be particularly careful that he 
never commits the unpardonable sin of laying himself, or 



ON FOURSOMES 195 

rather his partner, a stymie. Of all the stymies in the world, 
that which has been laid you by your own partner in a four- 
some is the most exasperating. 

Of course, for the proper blending of each partner's game 
with that of the other, it is advisable, or rather necessary, 
that before the first stroke in the match is taken there should 
be some kind of general understanding about the policy that 
is to be pursued. First consideration is given to the turn in 
which the tee shots are to be taken, and the drives are so 
arranged that the better player takes them at a majority of 
the tees where good drives are most wanted. But it seems 
to me that very often an arrangement of this sort is arrived 
at without sufficient consideration. For example, it fre- 
quently happens that a long-handicap man is a very good 
driver indeed, better in fact than the man who is his partner 
and has a handicap of many strokes less. And in the same 
way it commonly occurs that a short-handicap man may be 
decidedly weak with his short approaches. On the average 
of the play from the tee to the hole the senior player may be 
fully so much better than the other as the difference in their 
handicaps suggests, but it by no means follows that in parti- 
cular features of the game there is the same difference. 
Therefore the wise partners will adapt themselves to each 
other, so that they will get all the good out of them- 
selves and leave untouched that which is bad. And when 
this compact is completed and honourably adhered to, there 
are at hand the makings of a victory. 

When four players have decided among themselves to 
play a foursome, and there are wide differences in their 
respective handicaps, there is often considerable difficulty 
in arranging the best partnerships. It is good to be guided 
by mutual preferences, for preference means confidence, and 
that is everything in foursome play. But at the same time 
it is always advisable to sort out the players in such a 
manner that there is as little as possible of giving and 
receiving strokes. For example, where theie is a scratch 



196 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

man, two 9*s (or a 6 and a lo), and an i8, the best and most 
enjoyable match is always likely to result from a combina- 
tion of the scratch man with the i8 against the two players 
of medium handicaps, although the scratch man, if a selfish 
player, may not be disposed to saddle himself with the un- 
reliable person at the other end of the scale. It is a point 
to be borne in mind that the 1 8 man, if, despite his handicap, 
he is a real and conscientious golfer, is more likely to play 
above his handicap than the scratch man. It is much easier 
for an i8-handicap player to perform like a 12 than it is for 
a scratch man to play like a plus 3. In my opinion the 
arranging of strokes to be given and received in foursome 
play is far too delicate and complicated. In ordinary single- 
match play handicapping does not always work out very 
well, and it is often made to look foolish in a foursome. 
Far better is it than adding up and dividing by clumsy 
fractions, and then finding that one party gets five strokes 
or eight, that the players should take a broad view of their 
respective merits, and then decide that they will either play 
on level terms or that a third or a half shall be given and 
received. The best foursome of all is one played on level 
terms, and an effort should always be made, and even a 
point strained here and there, to effect such partnerships as 
will make this arrangement feasible. 

A really good foursome, when the partners play har- 
moniously and the holes are well fought out, is a splendid 
diversion from the ordinary game of golf The interest and 
excitement of each member of the party often seems to 
affect the others, and to lead up to an intense mutual keen- 
ness which is often superior even to that experienced in 
single play. There is a wholesome satisfaction in the com- 
munity of interests. The winning of a hole is coveted as it 
was never coveted before. Have you heard what should be 
a classical story about the foursome ? The match was all 
square on the sixteenth green, and one excited Scot stood 
by while his partner made a drive upon which the fortunes 



ON FOURSOMES 197 

of a hard-fought game might rest. The caddies had been 
sent forward. The tee shot was pulled, and the ball went 
twisting round in the direction of the driver's boy. It 
struck him and he fell flat upon the ground. The driving 
partner dropped his club, and, with his face turned pale, 
muttered hoarsely to his friend, " Tonalt, I've kilt the caddie ! " 
But Donald's mind was fixed upon other matters than the 
mere question of life and death, and with many excited 
gestures and a shriek of despair he exclaimed, " Then, tamn 
it all, we've lost the hole," as under Rule 25 they had. 

At the end of this chapter I will make the simple remark, 
that you can pay a golfer no higher compliment than to say 
that he is a good foursome player, for such a one must not 
only be a good golfer and a steady one, but a man of the 
serenest and even most delightful temperament. You must 
always feel that you could not play in the company of such 
a man too often, either with him or against him. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
GOLF FOR LADIES 

As t© its being a ladies' game — A sport of freedom — The lady on the links — The 
American lady golfer — English ladies are improving — Where they fail, and 
why — Good pupils — The same game as the man's — No short swings for 
ladies — Clubs of too light weight — Their disadvantages — A common fault 
with the sex — Bad backward swings — The lady who will find out for herself 
— Foundations of a bad style — The way to success. 

SOME people say that golf is not a ladles* game, and 
from time to time one hears of something in the 
nature of dissensions within the family circle when there 
are wives and sisters anxious to take up the sport which 
palpably affords their male relatives one of the greatest 
enjoyments of life, and when there are husbands and 
brothers who, it is said, advance arguments which for 
number and ingenuity would do credit to a King's Counsel, 
designed to show the absurdity and the futility of the desire 
expressed. It is a question upon which it would be out of 
place for me here to take any side, though it seems to 
me that there is something to be said for the complete 
separation of the men's golf from the ladies' golf, particularly 
in the case of large clubs and crowded courses. Golf 
is essentially a sport of freedom. Restraint of even the 
most trivial and conventional character in regard to manners 
and customs is irksome when there are holes to be played 
and tight matches to be pulled out of the fire. I like to see 
a lady go out on the golf links in whatever costume she 
thinks fit to wear for her own comfort and good play, and 
generally to do as she likes, as if there were nothing but 

198 



GOLF FOR LADffiS 199 

Nature and a little white ball and the hole with the flag in 
it in all the world. I have a great admiration for the 
American lady golfer, whom I have several times had the 
opportunity of studying on her native tees, and the other 
day I read the perfectly true story of an American clergy- 
man making a scathing attack from the pulpit one Sunday 
upon lady golfers, of whom he numbered many in his con- 
gregation. The reverend gentleman exclaimed that some 
of the lady members of his congregation attended divine 
service in the customary manner on the Sabbath, and then 
" swore like troopers " on the golf links on the Monday. 
The conduct of these ladies was no doubt exaggerated ; but 
it appears as if it may have been reprehensible. However, 
it shows the keenness and the enthusiasm of the American 
lady golfer ; and I am not at all sure that the answer of the 
English lady player, when she was asked if those bad words 
were ever uttered in this country, that the Englishwoman 
made fewer bad shots and had no occasion for an extended 
vocabulary, was entirely convincing. One hears that the 
ladies have coined new words for the expression of their 
disgust at the results of their strokes, and, on the other hand, 
that the limits of expletive which they permit themselves 
when bunkered consist of the chiding utterance, " Oh, you 
naughty, naughty little ball!" However this may be, I 
know not, and I would only remark, without presumption, 
to the ladies, as I have done in another place to their hus- 
bands and brothers, that golf is a game for thought and 
silence. 

Now, I am glad to see so many ladies taking up the 
game year by year, and thus giving the best possible answer 
to the question whether it is a real ladies' game or not. 
And furthermore, I am pleased to bear witness that the 
standard of ladies' golf in this country is improving every 
season, so that now it needs a fine man golfer to give a third 
to the best of the gentler sex. These good lady players, or 
some of them, are attiring themselves in these days as I like 



200 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

to see lady golfers attired, that is to say, there is evidence 
that they think a trifle less of fashion and dainty appearance 
than they do of security, comfort, and freedom of limb and 
muscle. But the majority of lady players do not attach the 
proper amount of importance to these considerations, and 
that is why one is sometimes a little doubtful as to the 
prospects of ladies' golf generally in this country in com- 
parison with those of American ladies' golf. The American 
girls are adopting the game more whole-heartedly and 
thoroughly than their English sisters, and their devotion 
to it will tell. The lady of the States who is a golfer dresses 
for golf and for golf only. Very seldom do you see in 
America a lady golfer wearing a hat, or head covering of 
any description. When she has one, it is almost invariably 
a light tam o' shanter, or something very small and soft, which 
clings closely to the hair and does not get in the way of the 
swing of the club. She tucks up her sleeves like a man, and 
in the soles of her shoes she has plenty of goodly sized nails. 
And she does not look a tittle the worse for any of these 
things ; indeed, the picture of the determined, strenuous, and 
yet charming lady golfer was one of the most attractive 
that I saw when in America. The average English girl 
does not appear willing to make so many sacrifices for golf 
as the American. She seems too often to say to herself that 
it is only a little game after all, and there is an end of it ; 
and yet she is always desirous of getting on and reducing 
her handicap. I need hardly say that this is not the proper 
spirit in which to achieve success at golf. We see too many 
ladies on our links with big hats and no nails in their shoes. 
I have no faith whatever in their future as golfers. It is 
impossible to play good golf if one is not fitted out properly 
for the game, whether the player be lady or man. Few 
players of our sex would dream of going on to the links in a 
tightly fitting coat and smooth-soled shoes. But the ladies 
are more venturesome. 

After this brief lecture on attire, let me at once declare 



GOLF FOR LADIES 201 

that there are many points about our English lady golfer 
that I greatly admire. It has been my privilege to teach 
the first principles of the game to many of them, and I am 
bound to say that for the most part I have found them 
excellent pupils — better generally than the men learners. 
They seem to take closer and deeper notice of the hints you 
give them, and to retain the points of the lesson longer in 
their memories. They are painstaking; and if she begins 
to play early enough in her life, adopts sensible methods, 
and is possessed of an average amount of athleticism, I can 
see no reason why any lady should not become a very fair 
golfer. Many somewhat spoil their prospects by concluding 
too hastily that they must play an altogether different game 
from that of their men friends, that they must have special 
clubs, special methods, and so forth. This is not the case. 
No doubt it is well for ladies to admit at once that they 
cannot drive as far as the men. But otherwise the man's 
game and the lady's game are the same in principle and in 
practice. As for the manner in which to play, I have not a 
single special piece of instruction to offer, and can only refer 
the lady neophyte to the previous pages, in which I have set 
forth as well as I am able the precise method in which each 
of the many strokes in golf should be played. I have 
merely to insist that they shall not deviate from these 
methods in one or two special matters in which they are 
advised or inclined to do. 

Ladies are frequently advised that they ought never to 
take a full swing. Of course in the foregoing pages I have 
frequently insisted that a golfer should avoid the absolutely 
full swing with all iron clubs, believing that he gets for the 
most part at least as good results with a good three-quarter 
swing. But those people who warn the ladies against the 
full swing, not only with their irons but with their wooden 
clubs also, advise the half swing because they say it is better 
for them for physical reasons, and that their results will be 
practically as good as if they had taken the three-quarter 



^02 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

or the full. Now I am convinced that this is altogether 
wrong, and, without encouraging any of my lady readers to 
the development of a big swing and a slashing style, I do say 
that they will do well for themselves and for their golf if 
they will train themselves to the making of at least a full 
three-quarter. I believe that the half swing entails a severer 
strain upon the body when made under these circumstances 
than the full three-quarter, and that the body does altogether 
more work than is good for it, while the delusion is enter- 
tained by those who recommend the short swing that the 
opposite is the case. In this half swing the body seems 
to get too much in front of the club and to labour heavily, 
while in the three-quarter the arms do most of the work, as 
they ought to do, and the body comes in at the proper time 
for the remainder. Though in previous chapters I have 
strongly advised golfers to play a half shot with one club in 
preference to a full shot with one less powerful, I only do so 
obviously when the distance is fixed and the half shot will 
reach it. In playing from the tee it is an altogether different 
matter. In this case the distance is not fixed. The object 
is usually to drive as far as possible, so no half shots are 
wanted here. 

As a general rule, ladies make use of clubs that are far 
too light for them. Frequently they do so by advice, and 
then their own instinct suggests to them that they should 
employ weapons less weighty than those of their male 
relations. This would be very sensible and proper if the 
clubs which men make use of were the heaviest that they 
could swing with effect. But a man only uses a club of a 
certain weight, because experience has proved that it is the 
best and most effectual for its purpose, and usually he has a 
very great reserve of strength which could be employed 
with heavier clubs if necessary. There is no reason at all 
why ladies should not employ clubs of good average weight 
instead of featherweights. By so doing they would spare 
themselves a great amount of exertion, and they would 



GOLF FOR LADIES 203 

certainly get better results, for it is always much more 
difficult to get good results with a light club than with one 
of medium weight. With the featherweight the swing is very 
liable to get out of gear. It is cut short, and is apt to wander 
out of its proper direction. There is, in fact, no such control 
over the club as there is when one can feel the weight of the 
head at the end of the shaft. A lady may require clubs a 
trifle shorter in the shaft, but this is the only difference which 
need exist, and it is not of itself sufficient to make any per- 
ceptible difference in the weight. 

So far as I have discovered, ladies have no special faults 
or weaknesses of their own, as distinct from other players, 
but I have found them more than usually addicted to in- 
accuracy in the backward swing, causing the toe of the club 
to be pointing upwards instead of downwards at the turning- 
point. This is the result of wrong action and loss of control 
over the wrists, and a study of my remarks on driving, where 
this matter is specially dealt with, should do much to obviate 
it. It is possible, however, that the lady's inferior strength 
of wrist, as compared with a man's, may have much to do 
with the fault, but even in that case it only needs caution 
and care to bring about a cure. I should say that fully 
three ladies out of every five whose play I have watched 
make this mistake, and it is a fault which has very serious 
consequences. I should advise all of them to make a 
periodical examination of the position of the club head 
at the top of the swing, as I indicated when discussing the 
drive, and if they find the toe is upwards they must make 
up their minds to get rid of this bad habit at any cost. If it 
has already become a part of the player's system, it will not 
be abolished without considerable difficulty. To begin with, 
she should try swinging back more slowly, as a too rapid 
backward swing has often much to do with it. 

Finally, I would suggest that any lady who aspires to 
be a really good golfer should take numerous lessons from 
those players superior to herself who are qualified to give 



204 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

them. I have already said that I have found ladies exceed- 
ingly good pupils, and when they set about learning the 
game in the right way , they often make really astonishing 
progress. But it must be confessed that in too many cases 
they do not treat the difficulties of the game with sufficient 
seriousness, and are inclined to think that they can get on 
best in their own way and by the adoption of their own 
methods. When once a lady has been given a couple of 
lessons in the swing for the drive, she often insists on finding 
out the rest for herself, and then a bad result is inevitable. 
All the practice and patience in the world will not make 
a good lady golfer if she does not learn the game in the 
right way. The simple fact is that, when a man sets about 
the game he admits its difficulties from the beginning, and 
goes about surmounting them in the right manner if he 
is really ambitious and covetous of a short handicap. But 
it often seems that ladies will not admit these difficulties, 
and persist in their attempt to make golfers of themselves 
unaided. Perhaps that is one reason why ladies do not 
always continue with the game with that increasing eagerness 
and enthusiasm which is an almost invariable characteristic 
of the man golfer. Learn properly, and practise much; 
and — well, yes, do the rest like a man, and not as if there 
were a special woman's way. That is the essence of my 
counsel to the lady aspirant on the links. 



CHAPTER XIX 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURSES 

Necessity for thought and ingenuity — The long-handicap man's course — The 
scratch player's — How good courses are made — The necessary land — 
A long nine-hole course better than a short eighteen — The preliminary 
survey — A patient study of possibilities — Stakes at the holes — Removal of 
natural disadvantages — "Penny wise and pound foolish" — The selection of 
teeing grounds — A few trial drives — The arrangement of long and short 
holes — The best two-shot and three-shot holes — Bunkers and where to place 
them — The class of player to cater for — The shots to be punished — Bunkers 
down the sides — The best putting greens — ^Two tees to each hole — Seaside 
courses. 

MANY as are the golf courses with which the coast, 
the country, and the suburbs of the towns and cities 
of Great Britain are studded, they will no doubt be still more 
numerous as time goes on, and it is earnestly to be desired 
that in the laying out of links in the future, more thought 
and ingenuity may be exercised than has been the case 
in far too many instances during the past few years, when 
clubs have been formed and links have been made in a 
hurry. Certainly some are excellent, and I cast not the 
least disparagement upon them. I enjoy them. Frequently 
the hand of the master architect of golf is visible where 
one observes how shrewdly and exactly the hazards have 
been placed, and the peculiarities of the conformation of 
the country turned to the utmost account when useful, or 
cunningly dodged when it has been considered that they 
could be no good to the golfer. Without a doubt, generally 
speaking, those courses are the best which have been 
designed by good players, because none know better than 

Z05 



206 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

they what makes the best golf. A man whose handicap 
is some distance removed from scratch, but who has played 
golf for many years, and thinks with good reason that he 
knows a fine course when he sees one, would nevertheless, 
in designing a new one, be led unconsciously to make holes 
which would be more or less suited to his own style of play. 
He might, indeed, in a most heroic spirit, place a bunker 
at a point which he knew would be more than usually 
dangerous for him, and he would feel a better and a braver 
man for this act; but a hundred of its kind would not 
prevent the course from being the ideal of the long-handicap 
man and not the ideal of the fine player. If plans were 
prepared for a new links over a particular piece of territory 
by a i2-handicap man and a scratch player, it is highly 
probable that in the most material matters they would differ 
greatly, and it is fairly certain that a committee of the oldest 
and most experienced golfers would unanimously pick out 
the scratch player's plans from all the others as being the 
best and soundest, and that without knowing who had 
prepared them. Time and the aggregate of pleasure given 
to golfers of all degrees would justify the selection. 

Therefore, when a new club is established and a new 
course is to be laid out, I suggest that it is the wiser and 
the better plan to take time over it and to secure the best 
advice. A good links is not made in a day or a week. 
Perhaps the cleverest and most ingenious constructor could 
not in a whole year make one which was in all respects the 
best that the land could give. Almost every time that the 
course was played over during the first hundred rounds, a 
new thought for its improvement in some small detail would 
occur. The moving of a tee twenty yards to the right, the 
addition of a couple of yards to the end of one of the 
bunkers, the placing of a shallow pot bunker some eight or 
ten yards across at some particular point — all these and 
many other matters of equal significance will constantly 
suggest themselves. My experience tells me that the per- 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURSES 207 

fection of a good course is slowly attained. Like wine, it 
takes time for the richness of its qualities to mature. There- 
fore, when the committee of a new club in the country sits in 
conference with a plan of its newly-acquired land laid on the 
table, and decides unanimously that a tee shall be placed at 
a point marked A, a bunker along the line B, another bunker 
at C, and the hole at D, and so forth, I protest that they are 
doing poor justice either to themselves or to the game. But 
on many links made during the past few years — made in a 
hurry — the results of such mechanical methods are only too 
apparent. I hope that the few hints that I offer in this 
chapter may be of service to old clubs with improvable 
courses and new ones with none as yet, and to those 
fortunate individuals who contemplate laying out a course 
in their private grounds for the use of themselves and their 
friends. Private courses are increasing in number ; and for 
my part, though I must obviously be guilty of prejudice, 
I can conceive of no more enjoyable acquisition to a country 
house than a nine-hole course, and assuredly the possessor 
of it will be envied and his invitations to week-ends much 
coveted. 

The question of the amount of land that shall be called 
into service for the fulfilment of a scheme for a new links is 
one that is usually outside the control of those who project 
it. They have to cut according to their cloth. I need only 
say here, therefore, that in a general way some thirty or forty 
acres of land are necessary to make such a nine-hole course 
as shall possess a satisfactory amount of variety, and not 
less than seventy acres for a full-sized eighteen-hole course, 
this as a matter of fact being the acreage of the South Herts 
Club's course at Totteridge, with which I am at present 
associated. By great economy of space and the exercise of 
unlimited ingenuity, courses might be made from a trifle less 
land, but they are better when they are made from more. 
Two or three hundred acres are sometimes utilised for a good 
links. Where land is very scarce, and there is no possibility 



208 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

of obtaining more of it, I earnestly advise private owners and 
committees to content themselves with a nine-hole course 
which will have plenty of length and good sporting quality 
about it, rather than sacrifice the good golf that is thus within 
their reach in a desire to possess a regulation eighteen-hole 
links that could only give complete satisfaction to ladies and 
children. Too many courses, with scarcely a brassy shot 
upon them, have been ruined by this greed for holes. 

When the land has been allotted to the purpose, a very 
thorough and careful survey should be made of all its 
features. This is not to be done in one morning. The land, 
no doubt, is very rough, and at the first glance it looks ill- 
adapted to the golfer's purpose. Many times I have had the 
task of making a course from materials which at first 
seemed so unpromising as to be hopeless. There should be 
no hurry at this time. Let those who are designing the links 
walk slowly and meditatively over nearly every square yard 
of the land at least two or three times before coming to any 
final decision as to where to place a single tee, bunker, or 
hole. An open mind is the best to begin with. After one 
or two of these preliminary surveys, some general idea of 
the possible formation of the links will begin to shape itself 
in the mind, and this having been done, it will be practically 
impossible for an intelligent person to make additional 
journeys over the land without being struck with an idea 
for a great improvement at one or other of the holes which 
he has fashioned in his mind. If it is possible, take two or 
three weeks over this slow process of creation of the links. 
They may be altered afterwards to some extent, but for 
good or ill their main features will probably remain as at 
the beginning, and may endure for centuries. Having 
secured to the mind this general and somewhat vague idea 
of the plan of the links, it is a good thing to plant a stake 
at each spot where it is proposed to make a hole ; and when 
the land is all staked out in this manner^ there is, as it were, 
a solid foundation upon which to build up the links. The 



THE CONSTRUCTION OP COURSES S09 

location of the stakes can be inspected from a distance and 
from different points of view, and it will constantly happen 
on these occasions that for the improvement of one or other 
of the holes its removal to a different place will be sug- 
gested. Continue your walks, examining the stakes from 
north, south, east, and west, and moving them here and 
there until you begin to feel a trifle weary of the business, 
and confident that you have planned the best possible holes 
out of the country that you have to deal with. Then you 
may proceed with perhaps the more interesting but cer- 
tainly the harder part of your task. 

It is useless to think about fashioning the links from the 
plan which will now have been formed, until those natural 
disadvantages of the land, which cannot be allowed to re- 
main, have been removed. Gorse and rocks may have to 
be cleared, and it is essential that at this stage an effort 
should be made to rid the course of rabbits and other 
undesirable vermin if any should infest it. Rabbits 
help to keep the grass nice and short; but they make 
too many holes in the course, and there is no alternat- 
ive but to regard them as the enemies of golf, and to 
make out the death warrants of them all accordingly. 
The quickest and surest way of getting rid of them is to 
search for every hole, apply the ferrets, stop up the holes 
afterwards, and to keep a watch for any that return. If 
only one or two are left here and there, they will play much 
havoc with the course in the future. From this point the 
way in which the work is proceeded with will naturally 
depend to a large extent on the length of the schemers* 
purse, and on their optimism or otherwise as to their future 
prospects ; but I am sure that it is best to employ as many 
men as can be afforded at the outset, and so grapple with 
the execution of the plans in a thorough and determined 
manner. In the making of a golf course it is very easy 
to be " penny wise and pound foolish." 

The situation of the greens having been decided upon, 
14 



210 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

the question as to the length of the holes, as to which some 
general impression will already have been formed, comes up 
for decision. A proposed teeing ground should be selected 
for each hole, the lengths of the holes then examined and 
compared, and the tees moved nearer or further back as seems 
desirable for the improvement of individual holes or the 
increase of variety. If at this stage there is any chance 
of finding a ball afterwards, it is a good thing to drive a few 
from each tee and play them with the brassy, cleek, irons, or 
mashie up to the green. If you drive half a dozen from 
each tee and play them through the green to the place 
where the holes will be, there will surely be one or two that 
have turned out excellently if you are a player of any skill 
whatever, and a study of the strokes which have been 
applied to these one or two, the point of pitching, and 
the final lie, will reveal the entire character of the hole you 
are making, and tell you plainly how it must be bunkered. 
In a nine-hole course I think there should be seven medium 
or long holes, and two short ones to break the monotony 
and test the golfer at all points. The situation of these 
short holes in the round will naturally be decided to a large 
extent by the land and other circumstances, but when the 
power of selection is left to the designer, I incline to the 
belief that Nos. 3 and 7 are the best for these dainties. 
I like a short hole to come early in the round, as at No. 3, 
because then a golfer who has made a bad start is given 
a chance of recovering before he is hopelessly out of the 
hunt. He has a better prospect of making such a recovery 
(or thinks he has, which is much the same thing) at a short 
hole than at a long one, and, being put in a good temper again, 
he will very likely go on very well for the next two or three, 
when he will be favoured with another short one. The 
plight of the player who has discovered at the beginning of 
a medal round that he is off his drive and brassy, and that 
six or seven holes have to be played before a little one is 
reached, is certainly not pleasant. I call a good short hole 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURSES 211 

one that can be reached by good play at any time with 
an iron club, because it fails to be a short hole when it is 
necessary to take wood upon the tee in order to get to 
the green. In an eighteen-hole course you might have 
three or four short holes — I think three are sufficient — and 
it would be well to vary their length so as to test the 
capacity of the golfer with different clubs, and to bring out 
all his qualities of resource. For a fourth hole on the short 
side plenty of sporting chance would constantly be afforded 
by one of 200 yards length. This could not be called 
a short hole, because under ordinary circumstances and 
on most days it would be too far for even a good driver 
to reach from the tee, but he would often be tempted to 
nerve himself to a superior effort, and an occasional strain of 
this kind is advantageous in the long run. Besides, when 
the wind was at his back he would frequently be successful, 
and on such occasions he would experience more pleasure 
and satisfaction from this particular tee shot than from any 
other of the whole round. 

The remainder of the course should be made up of a 
variety of two-shot and three-shot holes. The lengths 
should be varied as much as possible, and with limits of 
370 yards, and, say, 530 to work between, it should surely 
not be so difficult as it appears to have been in so 
many cases of inland links to get fourteen or fifteen quite 
different holes. Those of from 230 to 330 yards, with 
which so many courses abound, are not good holes in my 
opinion, because they give an almost equal chance to the 
man who has driven well and the man who has driven badly. 
Take a common sort of hole, 280 yards in length. A player 
misses his drive, and his ball travels only for, say, 100 or 120 
yards. He may still reach the green with his brassy, and 
should be able to do so. Now the man who drove well at 
this hole would need to make a second stroke with an iron 
club to reach the green, and would thus gain nothing from his 
better play. This is unfair, and what is unfair is bad. The 



212 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

good two-shot hole is one of the nicest and best holes on a 
course when it is really good. Its length is about 370 to 
380 yards. Thus it will be perceived that a first-class 
drive from the tee must be followed up by a fine second, 
as straight as it is long, if the green is to be reached. The 
good player who has done all that he ought is thus rewarded 
by the clear gain of a stroke and the capture of a hole in 
4, whilst the man who is a trifle weak with either his drive 
or his second, or has faltered to the slightest extent at 
either stroke, has for a certainty to use his mashie before 
he can call for the putter. When a two-shot hole is to be 
adjusted to this nicety of perfection, there is plainly not 
much margin for the variation of its length ; but it is not 
necessary, nor is it even desirable, to demand continually 
such unerring skill from the golfer. My idea of a good 
three-shot hole is one that stretches for 500 to 530 yards, 
three fine shots being wanted. For holes of much greater 
length than this I have no fancy. Perhaps no serious objec- 
tion can be laid against an occasional hole of 550 yards 
length, but what is really gained by such long journeys? 
Certainly the true skill of the golfer is not being more 
severely tested. When we come to such monstrosities 
as holes of 600 yards in length, it is time to call out 
" Enough ! " for by this time we have descended to slogging 
pure and simple, and the hard field work at which an agri- 
cultural labourer would have the right to grumble. So I 
repeat that the best hole for golfing is that good two-shotter 
which takes the ball from the tee to the green in two 
well-played strokes without any actual pressing. As for 
total length, it should be borne in mind that a links over 6000 
yards long is considered a long one, and that there are 
championship greens, Prestwick and Muirfield, which are (or 
were until quite recently; there is a tendency to stretch 
everywhere since the rubber-cored ball became predominant) 
shorter than 6000 yards. 

In making the plan of the course, a point of interest and 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURSES 213 

importance to decide upon is the direction in which the 
holes shall be played. Some golfers prefer that the first and 
succeeding holes shall lie to the right of the starting-point, 
while others like best to go out on the left-hand side, that is, 
to play round the course in the same direction as that 
pursued by the hands of a clock. It is largely a matter of 
fancy, but personally my choice is for going out to the left 
because I think in this case the holes are generally more 
difficult, and the boundary usually being near to the left, 
constant precautions must be taken against pulling. Another 
matter particularly to be remembered is that the first tee 
and the last green should be close together, and neither of 
them more distant from the club-house than is necessary. 
A wide separation of these points always seems to be con- 
trary to the proper order of things. 

And now we come to the perplexing problem of bunkers 
and where to place them, and in this connection I would 
remark that it would be well not to regard the lengths of 
the holes, as so far arranged, as final and irrevocable, and 
not to establish permanent teeing grounds accordingly, for 
it must necessarily happen, as the bunkers come to be formed 
on the course, and more trial rounds are played, that one's 
ideas will undergo considerable change, and it is easier to 
lengthen a hole at this stage of the proceedings, by simply 
placing the tee further back, than it will be afterwards. 

It has been a great question with some committees of 
newly-established clubs or of older ones in search of new 
courses, as to whether, in laying out their greens and settling 
upon the location of all their nice new bunkers, they should 
keep more particularly in mind the excellences of the scratch 
player or the trials and troubles of the 12 to 18 handicap 
men. On the one hand, the scratch player is the ex- 
perienced golfer, the man who plays the true game as it 
should be played, and who finds no real enjoyment in so- 
called golf wherein he is never called upon to do more than 
tap the ball over an obstacle ninety or a hundred yards in 



214 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

front. Such links never put up a fight against him, and he 
finishes his listless round with something as near to the sense 
of weariness as it is possible for the golfer ever to experience. 
But these scratch players, in common with the men with all 
handicaps up to 5 or 6, are in a very heavy and hopeless 
minority in most clubs to-day. The bulk of the membership 
is made up of players of from 6 to 24, with a concentration 
of forces between 1 2 and 1 8. These men say, or at all events 
think, that as they run the club they have a right to be con- 
sidered, and in their hearts the committee believe that they 
are justified. These men with long handicaps — some of 
whom have not even a desire to reduce them to any con- 
siderable extent, deriving the utmost pleasure in playing the 
game in their own way — can find no fun in being always and 
inevitably in the same bunkers, and regard driving from a 
tee, when they are either obliged to play short deliberately 
with an iron or be bunkered for a certainty with their driver, 
as the most dismal occupation with which a Saturday or 
Sunday sportsman could ever be afflicted. Therefore they 
cry loudly for shorter carries. They say the others are not 
fair, and from their particular point of view the remark is 
possibly justified. Even the young golfer who is determined 
to be a scratch man some day, though he is eighteen strokes 
from that pinnacle of excellence as yet, becomes rather tired 
in the long run of finding constant punishment waiting upon 
his valiant attempts to drive his longest ball, and thinks the 
committee should be reminded that there are others in the 
world besides the immediately coming champions. Amidst 
these conflicting desires, committees and course designers 
appear frequently to have attempted a compromise with no 
particular satisfaction to anybody. It is impossible to lay 
out a course to suit all the different players in a club, and 
my own most decided opinion is that the bunkers and other 
hazards should always be placed to test the game of the 
scratch player, and not that of the handicap man. A course 
that is laid out for the latter very often inflicts severe punish- 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURSES 215 

ment on the scratch player, and it is surely hard that the 
man who has spent many years in the most patient and 
painstaking practice should be deliberately treated in this 
manner when the comparative novice is allowed to go scot 
free. Moreover, when a bunker is so placed that a long carry 
is needed from the tee, the handicap man will find his game 
much improved by playing on the course. At first he finds 
he cannot carry the hazard, and for a little while contents 
himself with playing short. But he soon tires of this timidity, 
takes more pains with his strokes, braces himself up to bigger 
efforts, and at last the day comes when his ball goes sailing 
over the obstruction. Afterwards the performance is re- 
peated quite easily, and the views of one man as to the 
unfairness of that particular carry have undergone a radical 
change. It is better for the beginner that he should have a 
hard course to play over than an easy one, and, much as he 
may grumble at the beginning, he will in the end be thank- 
ful to those who imposed a severe experience upon him in 
his early days as a golfer. 

Therefore, if it is decided that there must be a bunker in 
the centre of the course in the line of the drive, I suggest 
that it should be placed at a distance of about 1 30 to 145 
yards from the tee. The second bunker, if there is to be 
another stretching across the course with a view to imposing 
difficulties on second shots or guarding the green, should be 
rather less than this distance from the first, so that the man 
who has topped his drive and is short of the first hazard 
should still have a chance of clearing the next one with his 
second shot. Recovery ought never to be impossible. But 
really I am no believer at all in bunkers placed across the 
course. Certainly let there be one in front of the tee to 
catch the bad drive, and another to guard the green ; but, 
generally speaking, the merely short ball carries its own 
punishment with it in the distance that has been lost and has 
to be made good again. The straight driver is not the man 
to be punished. It is the player who slices and pulls and has 



216 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

obviously little command over his club and the ball, and who 
has taken no pains to master the intricate technique of the 
drive, for whose careless shots traps should be laid. As often 
as not the bunker in the centre of the course lets off the ball 
with a bad slice or pull on it. So I say that bunkers should 
be placed down both sides of the course, and they may be 
as numerous and as difficult as the controlling authority 
likes to make them. But hazards of any description should 
be amongst the last features to be added to a newly-made 
golf links. Not until the course has been played over many 
times under different conditions, and particularly in different 
winds, can anyone properly determine which is the true place 
for a hazard to be made. At the beginning it may have 
been placed elsewhere in a hurry, and it may have seemed 
on a few trials to answer its purpose admirably, but another 
day under different conditions it may be made clear that it 
is in the very place where it will catch a thoroughly good 
shot and allow only a bad one to escape. I would not have 
insisted so much on this need for deliberation and patience, 
if it did not so often happen that as the result of placing the 
hazards on a new course in too much haste, they are found 
afterwards to be altogether wrong and have to be moved, 
with the waste of much time and money. 

There is little to the point that I can say about the 
making of the putting greens, as so much depends upon the 
natural conditions and opportunities. Sometimes there is 
nothing to do but to cut the grass short and pass the roller 
over it a few times and the green is made, and a first-class 
green too. At other times there is need for much digging, 
and the turf with which the carpet is to be relaid may have 
to be carried to the spot from a considerable distance. Par- 
ticularly when so much trouble is being taken over the laying 
of the greens, do I beg the makers of courses to see that they 
are not made dead level and as much like a billiard table as 
possible, which often seems to be the chief desire. To say 
that a putting green is like a billiard table is one of the worst 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF COURSES 217 

compliments that you can pay to it. By all means let it be 
true in the sense of being smooth and even, and presenting 
no lumps or inequalities of surface that are not plainly visible 
to the eye, and the effect of which cannot be accurately gauged 
by the golfer who has taught himself how to make allowances. 
But on far too many greens the man with the putter has 
nothing to do but gauge the strength of his stroke and aim 
dead straight at the hole. He derives infinitely less satis- 
faction from getting down a fifteen-yards putt of this sort 
than does the man who has holed out at ten feet, and has 
estimated the rise and fall and the sideway slope of an inter- 
vening hillock to begin with and a winding valley to follow, 
his ball first of all running far away to the right, then trick- 
ling across to the left, and finally wheeling round again and 
rolling into the tin. Only when there is so much calculation 
to be done and it is so precisely accomplished does the golfer 
practise the real art of putting, and taste the delights of this 
delicate part of the game. The other is dull and insipid in 
comparison. There is the less excuse for making the flat and 
level greens, inasmuch as even the beginners can appreciate 
the sporting quality of the others and enjoy practice upon 
them from the first day of their play. Let there be plenty 
of undulations, and then with the changing positions of the 
hole a player can practically never come to any particular 
green upon which he may have putted hundreds of times 
without having a problem set him entirely different from any 
that he has had to work out before. Greens, of course, are 
of all sizes, from fifteen to fifty yards square, and I beg leave 
to remark that large size is a fault in them, inasmuch as the 
bigger they are the less is the skill required in the approach 
shot 

It is perhaps unnecessary for me to point out as a final 
word, that when tees have to be specially prepared and 
turfed, it is a decided improvement to a course to have two 
at different points for each hole, one nearer and more to 
one side than the other. Not only do these alternative 



218 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

tees enable each of them to be given a periodical rest for 
recovery from wear and tear, but they afford an interesting 
variation of the play, make it possible to impose a more 
severe test than usual upon the players when it is felt 
desirable to do so, as on competition days, and also in some 
measure to counteract the effects of winds. Of course when 
tees have not to be specially made there is endless variety 
open. 

It is obvious that the greater part of the foregoing 
remarks applies chiefly to the construction of inland courses. 
Seaside links laid over the dunes are made by Nature 
herself, and generally as regards their chief features they 
must be taken or left as the golfer decides. A new hazard 
may be thrown up here and there, but usually the part of 
the constructor of a seaside course is to make proper use of 
those that are there ready made for him, and which are 
frequently better than any that could be designed by man. 



CHAPTER XX 
LINKS I HAVE PLAYED ON 

Many first-class links — The best of all — Sandwich — Merits of the Royal St. 
George's course — Punishments for faults and rewards for skill — Not a 
short course — The best hole — The Maiden — Other good holes — Prestwick 
an excellent course — The third and the ninth holes — The finest hole 
anywhere — Hoylake — Two or three tame holes — A means of improvement 
— Good hazards and a premium on straight play — St. Andrews — Badly- 
placed bunkers — A good second hole — The finest one-shot hole to be found 
anywhere — An unfair hole — The best holes at Muirfield — Troon — North 
Berwick — Cruden Bay — Dornoch — Machrihanish — A splendid course at 
Islay — The most difficult hole I know — Gullane — Kilspindie — Luffhess — 
Links in Ireland — Portrush — Portmarnock — Dollymount — Lahinch — 
Newcastle — Welsh courses — Ashburnham — Harlech — On the south and 
south-west coasts — The rushes at Westward Ho ! — Newquay — Good holes 
at Deal — Littlestone — Rye — The advantage of Cromer — Brancaster — 
Hunstanton — Sheringham — Redcar — Seaton Carew — St. Anne's — Formby 
— ^Wallasey — Inland courses — Sunningdale — A splendid course — Another at 
Walton Heath — Huntercombe — London links — Courses in the country — 
Sheffield — Manchester — Huddersfield — "Inland" courses at the seaside— 
A warning. 

OF all the golf courses that have any pretensions to 
being considered first class, or even good second class, 
I can call to mind very few over which I have not played a 
round, and at a time when the reputations of so many of 
them are being severely overhauled, and their merits and 
demerits criticised, some expression of my own opinions 
may prove interesting alike to the golfers who know them 
well and to others who are looking forward with eagerness 
to the enjoyment of games upon them at future holiday 
times. Recent championships and big matches have resulted 
in such wonderful scores, that some golfers are inclined to 

S19 



220 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

ask despairingly whether we have any really first-class course 
at all; and links which in the past have been considered 
perfect are spoken of contemptuously as fit only for handicap 
men who want their golf made easy. If they attach any 
importance to my opinion, then let them be assured that we 
still have many links which come near to being perfect, and 
that, notwithstanding the advent of the rubber-cored ball, 
there is no reason to complain about them or agitate for 
great alterations. We have them in England, Scotland, and 
Ireland — perhaps more in Scotland than elsewhere, but that 
is chiefly due to accidental circumstances. 

I am constantly asked, when the discussions to which I 
have referred are taking place, which in my opinion is the 
best course in the world. Many considerations enter into 
such a reckoning; but, after making it carefully, and with 
full knowledge of the fact that my answer is at variance 
with many of the best authorities on the game, I say 
Sandwich. Then let me tell you why I consider the links 
of the Royal St. George's Club to be the best that are to be 
found anywhere. There is, in the first place, not a single tee 
shot in the round where good play must not be shown by 
the golfer if he wants to achieve success. There is scarcely 
a hole at which a player who only half hits his ball from the 
tee does not find himself in grave difficulties, demanding an 
unusually brilliant recovery and sterling play until he has 
holed out, if he is to have any chance of getting on level 
terms with his opponent again, assuming that the latter is 
playing the proper game. The bunkers are so placed that 
a good shot has to be made every time to carry them. On 
the other hand, you are always satisfied that virtue is 
properly rewarded at Sandwich, and that if your tee shot 
is hit truly and well you are certain to be nicely situated 
for your second. Elementary considerations as these may 
appear to be, there are many courses having the reputation 
of being first-class where this reward is not always so 
sure as it is at Sandwich. The greens on that course 



LINKS I HAVE PLAYED ON 2^1 

are in all cases well protected, and they abound in 
character and variety. Some critics say that the carries 
over the first bunkers from the tees are too long ; but I do 
not agree with them. Without being a particularly long 
driver, anybody who hits his ball truly can carry any 
bunker at Sandwich that ought to be carried from the tee. 
Then at the Championships in 1904 everybody was declaring, 
with much knowledge that had come after the event, that 
the course was on the short side, as was proved, they said, 
by the phenomenal scores that were made in the Open 
competition. I do not agree. The scores made by two 
or three players were certainly low, but that was because 
they played exceptional golf. If I admit that the course is 
the merest trifle on the short side in going out, I hasten to 
add that a man must be playing perfect golf to get to the 
turn with a low score, while, unless his play does come 
within these narrow limits of perfection, he may find, grand 
player though he be, that he may easily run up a total for 
his nine holes that would look foolishly large. Coming in, 
there is certainly no shortness about the holes, and there 
is plenty of scope for the man who wants to open out his 
shoulders with his driver and his brassy, while there are 
hazards everywhere for the punishment of the balls that are 
not kept in the fairway. These are the chief considerations 
which lead me to give an emphatic vote in favour of 
Sandwich when I am asked which is the best course — that 
is to say, the best test of golf — that is to be found in the 
British Isles, or elsewhere so far as I know, and I ask to be 
given no more favourable opportunity of studying a golfer's 
points, than to see him play a round or two over the St. 
George's links. 

I should say that the third hole at Sandwich, although 
a short one, is in golfing quality one of the best of the 
eighteen, because it is so splendidly protected with bunkers 
and rushes everywhere, so that the player who would get on 
to the green from the tee does indeed need to be bold, and 



222 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

as accurate as he is bold. No faintness of heart, no doubt- 
ful stroke, will ever in the result be flattered by this third 
hole. The sixth or Maiden, famous everywhere, is very fine 
indeed, though it is not nearly so difficult as it used to be. 
The eighth is another beauty, well guarded by bunkers ; a 
trifle on the short side if the wind is following, but a terror 
in length if the breeze is coming from the green. The ninth 
is good. The tenth calls for a perfect drive straight down 
the middle of the course, in default of which the second shot 
will abound with difficulty ; and at the fifteenth another very 
straight tee shot is wanted. If there is a breath of wind to 
help the ball from the tee, a plucky player may then come 
to the conclusion that he has a chance of reaching the green 
with his second, and a fine shot will take him over the 
treacherous little bunker that guards it, giving him a 4 of 
which he may be proud in the best of company. These are 
the gems of Sandwich. 

Next to this course, I think that Prestwick with its 
Himalayas and its Alps is the finest that we have. It 
is an excellent test to apply to a would - be champion, 
although there have been complaints that this course also is 
short. Yet it is longer than it used to be, and it is merely 
the rubber-filled ball that makes it seem short. The third 
hole at Prestwick is one that stirs the soul of the dare-devil 
golfer, for, after he has despatched the ball safely and well 
from the tee, he finds a big, gaping bunker, the famous 
"Cardinal," ahead of him for his second — an ugly brute 
that gives a sickening feeling to the man who is off his 
game. Defy this bunker, be on the green with your brassy, 
put a 4 on your card, and you have done something which 
should make you happy for the morning. The ninth again 
is an excellent hole at which the straight driver is rewarded 
all the way, and, if he does his duty, is given a 5. I have 
no hesitation in giving my judgment that the seventeenth is 
the finest hole to be found on any links. I say so because it 
is the best specimen of a really perfect two-shot hole. If 



LINKS I HAVE PLAYED ON 

there is the slightest flaw in either the drive or the second 
stroke, all prospect of reaching the green in two vanishes 
into thin air. Mr. Laidlay once lost a match and an amateur 
championship because his second shot here was not quite 
good enough. A good tee shot well into the middle of the 
course, a second that is as clean as a shot can be and as 
straight as a bullet from a gun, with the gods of golf smiling 
approval all the way and particularly when your second is 
nearing the green — with all these you may ask for your 
putter for the third stroke. But there is a bunker before 
the green, a bunker just beyond the green, and rushes to the 
right and left, so that the second shot has indeed to be a 
beauty for its maker to be wholly satisfied. This is the 
sort of hole that all good golfers best like to play, because 
they know that the good shots are certain of their reward, 
and that not merely the bad shots but the indifferent ones 
are met with just penalties every time. It is said that no 
two golf strokes are ever alike, but there is just enough 
similarity about them to prevent individual strokes from 
living very long in history except in a few striking cases. 
Perhaps the most memorable shot ever played in golf was 
that made at this hole by the late Mr. Fred Tait when he 
was engaging with Mr. John Ball, jun., in the final tie of the 
Amateur Championship in 1899. The Scottish favourite 
was in the bunker guarding the green with his second, and 
it so happened that the bunker on this occasion was filled 
with rain water, in which the ball was floating. Mr. Tait 
chipped the ball out beautifully on to the green, and saved a 
hole which seemed a certain loss. It is hard to find many 
holes that are worthy of being put in the same class as this. 
Man cannot make such holes. They are there when he seeks 
out the land for the first time with his golf clubs. 

Hoy lake is a good course. There are one or two holes 
on it that must be admitted to be very tame. If the land 
in the middle of the course which is at present out of bounds 
were taken in and made playable, these holes could be much 



S24 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

improved. The hazards are good and plentiful, and a satis- 
factory premium is put upon straight play. The ninth is a 
nice hole, a really good drive helping the player consider- 
ably. The eleventh is another pretty one, neither long nor 
short, but just that length which a fine shot from the tee will 
reach, and accuracy is demanded by the rushes which seem 
all over the course as you stand to drive. 

I call St. Andrews a good course generally; but its 
bunkers are badly placed. They punish the man who is 
driving well more than the man who is driving badly, for 
they are generally the length of a good long drive. If this 
defect could be remedied, and if there were a few more 
bunkers at the sides to catch the pulled and sliced balls, 
then St. Andrews would be a fine links indeed. As it is, 
there are some excellent holes. The second is beautiful — - 
beautiful if the flag is put in the centre of the green — be- 
cause then a good second shot is rewarded as it ought to 
be. But it generally happens when big matches are being 
played there that the hole is placed in a corner, which 
frequently spoils the prospects of these good second 
shots. The seventh is good, calling for a most accurate 
second, and the eleventh is the finest one-shot hole to 
be found anywhere. The green is on a plateau with 
bunkers all about it, and if you overpitch it your ball 
will be in the rushes beyond. Many golfers swear by 
the seventeenth; but I am not one of them. I declare 
that it is a very unfair hole, and there is no encouragement 
here to be plucky. The player must be pawky all the way,, 
for it is fully two to one against there being anything but 
punishment as the result of bold tactics. The man who 
tries to place his long shot on the green may try again and 
again, and he will be convinced that it is next to impossible 
to stop there when he reaches it. 

For some reasons I like Muirfield ; but it does not enjoy 
so many advantages as the other championship courses. 
There are not so many sandhills. It is on the flat side, and 



LINKS I HAVE PLAYED ON 225 

at the first glance you might take it to be an inland course ; 
but after a single round you are greatly impressed by the 
good golf that is to be obtained upon it. The turf is capital, 
some of the hazards are very fine, and on the whole I think 
it may fairly be regarded as a very good championship test 
of golf. The fourth, twelfth, and eighteenth holes all call for 
first-class seconds if the greens are to be reached. 

There are so many other good links in the north that 
a further selection becomes increasingly difficult. Troon, 
abounding in sandhills, is very fine, and the player needs 
to be very skilful to get round it in a low score. North 
Berwick is also good, and it is surprising to see how well 
the links are preserved considering the enormous amount of 
play to which they are subjected. There are many good 
holes at popular Carnoustie, with a fine length about them 
which calls for good brassy play, and which is calculated 
to bring out all the good points that a golfer has in him. 
Cruden Bay and Dornoch are enjoyable; but those who 
want to get the best golf in Scotland need not always go 
to those places that revel in reputation and where an incon- 
venient crowd may at most times be depended upon. Some 
of the gems of North Britain are hidden away in inaccessible 
corners, and the golfers who would reach them must make 
tedious journeys by land and sea. But he who is worthy 
of the game is in my opinion amply rewarded for these 
travelling labours, by the quality of the golf that is vouch- 
safed to him at his journey's end, and he is spared the 
annoyance of being obliged to book his starting time over- 
night and of having a couple of hours to wait upon the tee 
if he is a minute late in the morning. I believe that Machri- 
hanish is one of these very fine but out-of-the-way courses, 
but it happens to be one over which I have not hitherto 
played. I can tell of another where the most glorious golf 
is to be obtained, and which I can strongly recommend to 
those on the lookout for a place at which to spend a golf- 
ing holiday. It is at Islay. There the air is grand, there is 
15 



226 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

excellent accommodation to be obtained at the combined 

hotel and club-house, and as for the quality of the golf I do 

not hesitate to say that the course is in every respect fit for 

the championships to be decided upon it. There is one 

hole here, the third, which is the most difficult anyone 

can imagine. If I were asked to select one from all 

the thousands of holes that I have played in my time, I 

should pick this one out for difficulty. They call it Mount 

Zion, and I think it is a good name for it. You must make 

three very good shots to reach the green, and in the matter 

of accuracy the third needs to be a gem if any satisfaction 

whatever is to be got out of the whole business. The green 

is on a plateau, and it is protected by every contrivance that 

ingenious Nature has vouchsafed to the makers of courses. 

If you are short you are in a running stream ; if you pull 

you go out of bounds ; and if your ball trickles over the 

green, away it goes into the sea — tortures the most terrible 

for the erring ball. Yes, decidedly I think this is the hardest 

hole I have ever seen. The first time I played it I took lo 

to hole out, and yet won it from a very fine professional 

player who is an ex-champion ! I have never done a hole 

better in my life than when I once halved this with Taylor 

in 4 in the course of a match which Taylor won at the 

twenty-fourth hole. The seventh is also a very fine hole 

with a bunker in front of the tee, which is very similar to 

the Maiden at Sandwich. An old golfer who lives there 

told me he can remember the time when it was a rabbit 

scrape. Like all golfers who know them, I sing the praises 

of Gullane, Kilspindie, and Luffness. 

There is a variety of good golf to be obtained in Ireland 
also. Portrush, Portmarnock, Dollymount, Lahinch, and 
Newcastle (co. Down) — all these are fine links. For a place 
to visit for an enjoyable golfing holiday, when health is a 
governing consideration also, I should select Portrush as 
one of the very best, while golfers who wish to play at Port- 
marnock and elect to put up in a Dublin hotel have an ex- 



LINKS I HAVE PLAYED ON 227 

perience of pleasant variety which I at all events have found 
very agreeable, for you have first the train, then the car, and 
last of all the boat to take in order to reach the course, and 
not an inch of the journey is wearisome. Of course this 
proceeding cannot be recommended to those golfers who 
prefer to sleep in close proximity to the first tee, regardless 
of all other pleasures that are to be obtained without any 
sacrifice of the game. The course I like best in Wales is 
that at Ashburnham, over which the Welsh Championship 
was last played for. It is one of those excellent natural links 
which require very little attention. The Royal St. David's 
course at Harlech is also very good. 

Coming back to England again, I agree with all others 
that splendid golf is to be obtained at Westward Ho! 
although there is one quite unique feature of this course of 
which some golfers, myself among the number, do not bear 
the pleasantest recollections. I refer, of course, to the rushes 
of a peculiar growth which are to be found there in such 
abundance. I can conceive no nightmare more horrible 
to a player than one in which during his hours of troubled 
sleep he is in imagination vainly trying to rescue his un- 
happy ball from the clutches of these famous rushes. They 
stand full five feet high, strong and stiff like stout twigs, and 
they have sharp and dangerous points which seem as if they 
might be made of tempered steel. A kind of blossom 
appears on them in the season as if to disguise their evil 
features. Any player who is unlucky enough to put his 
ball into them (and there are one or two holes at which 
even a good shot may find its way there) must always en- 
counter a considerable risk of breaking his club in the 
endeavour to play out again. I believe that attempts have 
been made to grow these rushes elsewhere, but the seeds 
that have been carried away from their native Westward Ho ! 
have never prospered. Perhaps some golfers may reflect 
that this is just as well, though with all their faults and 
dangers I certainly do not condemn them as a hazard. They 



228 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

are a novelty, and all things that come from Nature must 
be admitted without question into the game of golf. On 
the south coast there are several fine links. Newquay is 
excellent for a holiday, and the course of the Cinque Ports 
Club at Deal, now that it is eighteen holes, is very fine. 
I have not enjoyed recent acquaintance with it, but the 
short fourth hole which they call the Sandy Parlour struck 
me when I was last down there as being a very sporting 
little piece of golf. Both Littlestone and Rye are admirable, 
and I have pleasant memories of the latter, particularly in con- 
nection with a match I once played there with Mr. Fred Tait. 
Again, on the east coast of England there are courses in 
number which afford the best opportunities for enjoyable 
and skilful golf. Cromer is a mixture of inland and seaside. 
It is one of those seaside courses which don't look what they 
are, but some parts of it are good, especially those which lie 
through the sand dunes. The lower part is tame. However 
the air is beautiful, and the golfer who makes his head- 
quarters at this place enjoys the material advantage of having 
three or four other first-class links within easy reach. For 
example, there is Brancaster, which, though a long distance 
from any railway station, is worth any amount of trouble 
that may be expended on the journey. The turf is excellent, 
the hazards well placed, and the golfer who does not keep 
straight is penalised as he ought to be. It is a fine course. 
Then there is Hunstanton, which is also very good, and 
Sheringham too. Higher up there is golf at Redcar and Seaton 
Carew which none need despise. On the north-west coast 
there is more golf to be had that is well worthy of the name. 
St. Anne's and Formby are both capital, and fine golf is neces- 
sary to get round these courses at all well. Wallasey is highly 
satisfactory. Both my space and my memory are unequal 
to giving a complete list of all the seaside courses that should 
be commended, and the absence of any particular one from 
my little list does not imply that I rank it as inferior, although 
T have tried to mention all those that I consider the very best 



LINKS I HAVE PLAYED ON 229 

So far I have said nothing about inland links, because 
the golfer who is going away from his own for a brief period 
for pleasure and improvement usually elects to play at the 
seaside, and wisely so, for, apart from the superior hygienic 
properties of atmosphere, there is no getting rid of the fact, 
however much we may be attached to some inland courses, 
that seaside golf, when it is the real thing, is entirely 
different from any other. It is better in every respect ; in 
fact it is usually ideal. It gives more benefit to the mind 
and body of the overworked player, it pulls out his game 
and makes a golfer of him as nothing else can ever do, and 
it affords such variety of a true sporting character as nothing 
but Nature can provide. But in thus extolling the seaside 
game, I do not wish for a moment to be considered as dis- 
paraging the golf that is to be had almost everywhere 
throughout the country in these days. Inland golf is a 
necessity to all except the leisured people who have no 
occupation which chains them to cities and towns, and there 
is now so much of it that it has taken a dominant place in 
the golfing world. And if the inland turf does not possess 
those glorious qualities that distinguish the seaside article, 
and if the bunkers constantly bear evidence of having 
been carted to the place where they are situated, and if, 
moreover, the evenness of many green fields becomes some- 
what monotonous, nevertheless the golf which is to be 
obtained at many of these places is thoroughly enjoyable, 
and at the same time as severe a test of skill as the most 
conceited player could ever wish for. Take Sunningdale, for 
instance. This course, in my opinion, is the best of all the 
inland links with which I am familiar, and it requires the 
very finest golf to get round it in anything like a decent 
score. Unless the golfer plays with his head as well as with 
his club, he will find himself in difficulties all the way. 
Walton Heath is another good example. Here also a 
capital player must be on the top of his game to get round 
in anything like bogey. Those who made this course have 



S30 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

mastered the undesirable eccentricities of the rubber-cored 
ball as few others have done. This ball is too apt to despise 
the average inland bunker, particularly in the summer-time, 
and goes skipping over it as if there were no obstruction in 
sight. But it does not do that at Walton Heath, where they 
have made the bunkers so deep that the ball inevitably stops 
in, and there is nothing for it but to ask the caddie for the 
niblick and resign yourself to losing a stroke. I should like 
to see the managers of other courses take a leaf out of the 
Walton Heath book. Bunkers that were once quite deep in 
the old days of the gutty are in too many cases shallow and 
useless under the new conditions. I do think that the 
splendid state of the Walton Heath links is marvellous 
considering the short time that has elapsed since the club 
was formed. I have never played at Huntercombe, over 
which my old friend and opponent, Willie Park, has spent 
so much care and time and money, but I believe that it is 
similarly good, and I have heard golfers, for whose opinion 
I have the highest respect, declare enthusiastically that it is 
one of the best inland courses to be found anywhere, while 
the high hill air is splendid. 

Considering the many disadvantages under which they 
labour, particularly in the matter of soil, which is mostly of 
the clay variety, the links round about London may be con- 
sidered good, and though the metropolitan golfer may not 
always appreciate the fact, during one period of the year he 
scores over all others. This is in the summer-time, when the 
hot sun has at last dried and burnt up the grass on many sea- 
side links and made them slippery and difficult even to walk 
upon. At such time the grass on the London links is still 
usually quite fresh and green, and not until some weeks later 
does it yield to the scorching rays. For the most part, too, 
the London links are exceedingly well kept. Lees, the green- 
keeper at the Mid-Surrey course at Richmond, is the best 
man for that duty that I know. 

I cannot attempt to give any adequate information about 



LINKS 1 HAVE PLAYED ON 231 

the hundreds of links that are now dotted about all over the 
shires. It must suffice to say, in confining myself to large 
centres, that I have pleasant memories of good golf that I 
have had on the fine course at Lindrick in the Sheffield 
district, and at Trafford Park near Manchester. This is 
indeed a very nice inland course, with gravelly soil and a 
capacity for keeping dry during the winter. At Timperley 
there is another good links. The Huddersfield course is a 
splendid one to play upon, and very tricky too. Its merits 
are indicated by the quality of golfers that it breeds. It 
has made several men who have won the Yorkshire cham- 
pionships, and in club matches the Huddersfield team is a 
very hard one to beat. 

There is one class of course of which I have not yet 
made any mention, and which I do not think it is necessary 
to do more than refer to. It is that mongrel kind which is 
both seaside and inland, but which is in the full sense 
neither, situated, that is, at a seaside resort, and may be in 
the very closest proximity to the sea, but with none of the 
properties of the real seaside course — no seaside turf, no 
sand dunes, no wild natural golf. These courses are usually 
elevated on cliffs. In many cases the golf that is to be ob- 
tained upon them is excellent, and I only wish to point out 
to unpractised golfers who are about to start for a holiday 
and have taken no advice, that if they are making for a sea- 
side place and want that kind of golf which they have heard 
is to be had at Deal, Sandwich, Rye, Westward Ho ! Little- 
stone, St. Andrews, North Berwick, and scores of other 
places, they should make quite certain that they are taking 
their railway tickets in the proper direction. Otherwise, 
when they arrive upon the links that they have chosen, they 
may fail to discover any difference between the course 
visited and that on which they are in the habit of playing 
when at home. I only mention the matter because I have 
known so many cases of severe disappointment arise through 
mistakes of this kind. 



CHAPTER XXI 
GOLF IN AMERICA 

Good golf in the United States — My tour through the country — Mr. Travis's 
victory in our Amateur Championship — Not a surprise — The man who 
played the best golf — British amateurs must wake up — Other good 
Americans will come — Our casual methods of learning golf — The American 
system — My matches in the States — A good average — Driving well — 
Some substantial victories — Some difficult matches — Course records — En- 
thusiasm of the American crowds — The golf fever — The king of baseball 
takes to golf — The American Open Championship — A hard fight with J. H. 
Taylor — A welcome win — Curious experiences in Florida — Greens without 
grass — The plague of locusts — Some injury to my game — **Mr. Jones" — 
Fooling the caddies — Camping out on the links — Golf reporting in America 
— Ingenious and good — Mistakes made by non-golfing writers — Lipping 
the hole for a hundred dollars. 

I HAVE a higher opinion of both the present and the 
future of golf in America than that which seems to be 
entertained by a large number of eminent players in this 
country. I think that American golf is very good at the 
present time — much better than it is given credit for being 
— and I am convinced that it will be still better in the future. 
I made a long golfing tour through the United States in 
1900, when Englishmen for the most part regarded the game 
in that country with as much seriousness as they would have 
bestowed upon golf in Timbuctoo if they had heard that it was 
being played there. At that time it seemed to be taking a 
firm grip of our cousins, and I saw enough to convince me 
that America was coming on quickly, and that before long 
the old country would have reason to fear her. Everything 
that has happened since then has strengthened my belief, 
and the eyes of the British were at last fairly opened when 



GOLF IN AMERICA 233 

the Championship was played for at Sandwich in June of last 
year, when, to the chagrin of our own leading amateurs, an 
American, in the person of Mr. Walter J. Travis, became the 
victor, and took back with him across the Atlantic the 
Amateur Championship Cup. So far from surprising me, 
that event was exactly what I expected. When I was in 
America I played against Mr. Travis once or twice, and 
though he was then in the improving stage and evidently 
not at the top of his career, I felt that he was a man who 
might very likely do great things in the future. Afterwards 
I followed his play with some curiosity and interest. I saw 
that in course of time he beat many good men whose form 
I understood precisely. I knew that he was one of the 
steadiest golfers I had ever seen — a man of fine judgment 
and marvellous exactness, who always played with his head, 
and was constantly giving the closest possible study to the 
game. I felt that when he came to play for our Champion- 
ship he would make a very bold bid for it. When I heard 
that he was going to Sandwich last year, I made him my 
"tip" for premier honours, and before the first round was 
played I said to many friends, " Mark my words ; if Travis 
gets anything like a fairly easy draw to start with he will go 
right through." And so he did. I saw him play on this 
memorable occasion, which will never be forgotten as long as 
any of the events of golfing history are remembered, and, in 
opposition to the opinions of other British critics expressed 
in many columns of print during the weeks following, it was 
and is my absolute conviction that his was the best golf 
played in that tournament, and that he thoroughly deserved 
to win. He played with his head the whole way through, 
and his golf was really excellent. It was only natural that 
our people should be very downhearted when they saw 
what had happened, for it seemed nothing else than a great 
disaster. I do not think that in the long run it will prove to 
have been so, for the inevitable effect of it was to wake up 
our British golf, which stood sadly in need of arousing. I 



234 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

think that amateur golf in this country has been steadily 
depreciating for some time, and at the present moment I 
think that the standard of merit of our best players is lower 
than in the days when Mr. Harold Hilton, Mr. John Ball, 
jun., and the late Mr. Freddy Tait were at their best. And 
despite the American shock, I cannot profess that the outlook 
at the present moment is particularly encouraging. There 
are other good golfers in the States besides Mr. Travis, 
and, frankly, I think that unless we wake up in this country 
the Cup will go there again. For the moment our numerical 
strength in the Championship tournament is in our favour. 
When there are only half a dozen Americans entered out 
of a total number of over a hundred, the odds are evidently 
against them, but an "American invasion" is threatened, 
and then we shall see what we shall see. 

The chief reason why it is difficult to feel optimistic about 
the prospects of amateur golf in this country is because the 
rising generation, upon whom we must depend for our future 
champions, do not take sufficient pains to make themselves 
masters of the game. They are too haphazard in learning 
it. The beginners on our side are too apt to say to them- 
selves, " I will go and teach myself to hit a ball first, and 
then I will take a lesson," which is, of course, entirely wrong. 
Then one of their friends tells them to do a certain stroke 
in one way, and another tells them the opposite, and thus at 
the end of six months they have got into such a thoroughly 
bad style that it is the most difficult task in the world for a 
professional to set them right. Those who have the future 
of British golf at heart cannot afford to disregard or wink at 
these vagaries on the part of beginners, on whom we depend 
to constitute the national system in coming years. Now the 
national system of America is altogether different. They 
are not haphazard there. They seem to take a deeper 
interest in the game and its science, and they never think of 
trying to learn it by the chance methods which are so much 
in favour with us. They take the game with the utmost 



GOLF IN AMERICA 235 

seriousness from the very beginning, and obtain the very 
best advice that they can. The professionals never have a 
minute to spare, and their engagement-books are constantly 
filled up for three weeks in advance, so that without that 
length of notice nobody stands a chance of getting a lesson 
for love or money. That is the way in which the people of 
America are learning to play golf, and it is the proper way. 
It is slow but it is very sure ; and unless I am very much 
mistaken, there will in the future be other players coming 
across the Atlantic to take part in our championships who 
will be as great as Travis if not greater, and if we on our 
part do not forthwith begin to take our golf more seriously 
it may be a sad day for us when they do come. 

As I have said, American golf was only just budding 
when I made my tour through the country in 1900; but 
nevertheless I found that tour extremely interesting and 
enjoyable, and everywhere I was given the heartiest and 
most enthusiastic reception. Nobody even begrudged me 
the American Championship which I brought back with me, 
and nobody made any unkind criticisms of my play, or sug- 
gested that I did not in any way deserve the victory. My 
tour began in March and did not finish until the end of the 
year, but was interrupted for a short period at the beginning 
of the summer, when I made a flying trip home in order to 
take part in our own Open Championship. As it happened, 
the best that I could do was to finish second to Taylor, but 
I may add that this result was better than I expected, con- 
sidering the sudden change of golf and climate that I ex- 
perienced. I had to cover several thousands of miles in 
order to play the matches in which I took part in America. 
Of these matches I only lost two when playing against a 
single opponent, and each time it was Bernard Nicholls who 
beat me, first at Ormonde and then at Brae Burn. There 
was not a blade of grass on the course on which Nicholls 
won his first match from me, and I leave my readers to 
imagine what playing on a links consisting of nothing but 



236 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

loose sand was like. Altogether I suffered only thirteen 
defeats, but in eleven of them I was playing the best ball of 
two or more opponents, which was the task that was gene- 
rally set me. I won over fifty matches and halved two. 
Some of my victories were somewhat substantial. At Point 
Comfort I beat Willie Dunn by sixteen up and fifteen to 
play, and at Scarsdale I got the better of the same opponent 
to the extent of fifteen and fourteen. Such wide margins 
naturally suggest opponents of inferior ability ; but if I may 
modestly say so, I do not think that was wholly the case. I 
consider that at that time I was playing better golf than I 
had ever played before or have done since. As was the 
custom there, I used to go out on the links in the very 
thinnest and airiest costume. In Florida it was too warm to 
play with either coat or vest, so both were discarded and 
shirt sleeves rolled up. Generally, like my opponents, I 
wore no jacket, but a neat waistcoat with sleeves which 
helped to keep the arms together. In such attire one was 
afforded a delightful sense of ease and freedom which con- 
siderably helped one's golf. Then again, whether it was due 
to the fine dry atmosphere — as I think it was — or not, the 
ball certainly seemed to fly through the air with less resist- 
ance offered to it than I had ever experienced before. Never 
have I driven so well as I did with the old gutty in America 
in that year. Many of the professionals whom I met were 
men who were taught their golf in this country, and were 
players who would usually hold their own in the best of 
professional company. The American papers gave very 
lengthy reports of all the matches in which I took part, the 
headlines and what followed them being frequently very 
flattering. There was " The Golf King," and many such as 
that, in type nearly an inch deep. Perhaps I may, without 
offence, be permitted to quote from the account given in a 
leading daily newspaper of the second match in which I 
defeated Willie Dunn — at Scarsdale — which I only do for 
the purpose of showing that the conditions of play were 



GOLF IN AMERICA 237 

sometimes really trying, and not at all conducive to big 
victories or record breaking. This paper said : " If it were 
necessary to dwell upon the extraordinary consistency of the 
champion's game, one has only to refer to his card for the 
four rounds (it was a nine-hole course) in yesterday's match, 
as his worst nine holes totalled forty-one and his best thirty- 
seven. If the turf could only unearth a thoroughbred as 
reliable as Vardon, poolrooms in Greater New York would 
be past history in very short order. Vardon's skill probably 
never underwent a severer test than in the match yesterday. 
Everything was against his exhibiting anything approaching 
championship form. He had not only to contend against a 
biting north-west wind, which temporarily got mixed up 
with a flurry of snow, but the course itself, from the character 
of the land, is about as difficult to score over as any in the 
country. The ground is one succession of ' kopjes,' while 
seven of the nine holes are * on the collar ' all the time, and 
at an angle of from twenty to thirty degrees. The course is 
only 2677 yards in playing distance. On paper this gives 
the impression of being nothing out of the ordinary, but 
confronted with it in actuality, it is about as hard a proposi- 
tion as any victim of the golf habit could tackle. The only 
course one can compare with it here is Oakland, and the 
latter is a billiard table by the side of it. At the finish of 
the thirty-six holes Vardon said, * I never felt so fagged out 
in my life. In fact I could play seventy-two holes on the 
other side every day for a week and not have been fatigued 
half so much.' " I do not remember that I ever committed 
myself to such an extravagant statement as this, but the 
course was certainly a very trying one that day. Yet on 
that occasion I lowered the eighteen holes record for the 
course. Altogether I beat most of the records of the courses 
during my tour. The first time I ever took my clubs out 
on American soil, on the course of the Lawrence Harbour 
Country Club, I reduced the record for the nine holes (held 
by Willie Dunn) from forty-one to forty. Yet the weather 



238 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

was so bad just then, and the clay greens were in such a 
state of puddle, that temporary greens had to be made on the 
fairway. I won my first match by nine up with eight to play. 
On one or two occasions I was obliged to beat the record in 
order to win my game. Thus, when playing on the Wheaton 
links at Chicago, Will Smith was three up on me at one 
time, but by beating the links record I won at the finish by 
two up with one to play. This was one of the very toughest 
struggles I had over there. 

There was no mistaking the enthusiasm of the American 
spectators. They came to the matches in great crowds — 
always a large proportion of ladies — and they seemed bent 
on learning all that they could from the play. Everybody 
seemed to be trying to practise my grip. All kinds of 
theories were invented to account for the manner in which 
my shots came off. On one occasion, after I had got in a 
good one with a cleek, an excited spectator jumped the 
ropes, ran up to a friend of mine and screamed, " Say, which 
arm did he do that with ? " I looked to see if all my arms 
and legs were intact, or if there was anything that appeared 
unusual about them. I discovered afterwards that by " arm " 
he meant " club." Many places of business were closed for 
the afternoon when I was playing in certain districts, and on 
one occasion the Stock Exchange did so. A letter to one 
of the papers, concerning the extraordinary manner in which 
America was taking the golf fever, contained these sentences : 
— " I went into a leading business house to-day and found 
the three partners of the firm in a violent discussion. As I 
thought they were talking business I concluded that my 
presence was unnecessary, and started to edge away. 
Suddenly I noticed the head of the firm rush into his office 
and rush out again with a cane. As the words were heated 
I was just about to interfere when I saw a weapon appear on 
the scene, but the head partner wasn't looking for blood. 
Instead of hitting anyone he swiped the cane along the 
ground, and then I heard the words — ' This is how Vardon 



GOLF IN AMERICA 289 

holds it/ I wanted to make an appointment with one of the 
partners, but he told me that he wouldn't be in. However, I 
guess I'll meet him, because I'm going out to Dixie myself." 
The professionals and the golf shops suddenly began to do 
an enormous trade in sticks, and Bernard Nicholls, the only 
man who defeated me single-handed, preferred not to play 
me again for a long time. He said his victory had done an 
enormous amount of good to his business, and he did not 
want to spoil it. From numerous quarters I received all 
kinds of offers to " star " in one way or another, some very 
big fees being suggested. Would I become a store manager 
at a huge salary? Would I make an exhibition for so many 
hours daily of driving golf balls in a padded room in the 
city ? And so on. I actually did accept an offer one day 
to do exhibition swings in a room in a Boston store. I 
was to start at 9.30 and continue until 5 each day, doing 
tee and other shots into a net for half an hour at a time, and 
then resting for an hour before taking the next turn. There 
was a fresh "house" of about two hundred people every 
time, and it was part of the bargain that my manager should 
stand by and explain everything. But he had had enough 
of it after one or two turns. Then I found it became terribly 
monotonous, and to interest myself I kept trying to hit a 
particular spot on the wall near the ceiling, until the stores 
manager came forward in a state of great excitement, declar- 
ing that only six inches from that spot was the tap of a 
patent fire extinguishing arrangement, and that if I hit it 
the room would be flooded by a series of waterspouts in less 
time than I could imagine ! By four o'clock my hands were 
blistered badly, and at that stage I had had enough and 
went out. In the meantime I was the constant recipient of 
numerous presents of all kinds, and the invitations that I 
received to dinners were far too many for any professional 
golfer to accept. I do not mention these things with any 
desire for self-glorification. They are ancient history now, 
and nobody cares about them. But they serve to show the 



240 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

whole-hearted manner in which America was going in for 
golf, and the tremendous hold that it took on the people. 
We talk on this side of the " golfing fever " and of people 
"going mad" about the game. Believe me, the Britisher 
is a mere dallier in comparison with his American golfing 
cousin. 

An interesting incident happened when the American 
Championship was played for on the Wheaton course, when, 
as I was informed, the game of golf achieved the most 
notable victory that it had ever achieved in the United 
States. This was the complete surrender to it of the veteran 
champion and overlord of baseball, the American national 
game. How that came about I will leave one of the Chicago 
newspapers to relate: — ^"Cap. Anson surrendered to golf 
yesterday. The capitulation of the veteran of America's 
national game took place on the links at Wheaton during 
the race between Harry Vardon and J. H. Taylor. * Cap.' 
says the game of golf is a go. He has stood out against it 
and ridiculed it ever since it began to get the people. 
Anson knows Charles S. Cox, Vardon's manager, and 
accepted an invitation yesterday morning to look in on 
the game. On the links he balked at the proposition of 
walking four miles in one trip around the course, but he 
lined up with the crowd to see Vardon drive off. The ball 
went higher than any fly *Pop' ever saw in his life. It 
sailed 220 yards. Anson was first to start the applause 
with a * Good boy. She's a homer.' Then he led the 
gallery to the first green. He was puffing when he pulled 
up at the eighteenth hole, but he felt better than if he had 
stolen second base. * I'd like to take a crack at that golf 
ball,' he said. * You can put me down for a trial the first 
chance I get. Wouldn't mind togging up in kilts just to 
give the Prince of Wales a run for his money.' " For the 
sake of giving prominence to it, this paragraph was put in a 
fancy border and let into the middle of the sheet of news- 
paper, so the Chicago people evidently attached some im- 



GOLF IN AMERICA Ul 

portance to the capitulation of the worthy captain, and I 
hope that by this time he has had many thousands of cracks 
at the golf ball and that his handicap is low. 

I was intent on making a bold bid for this American 
Open Championship. Victory in it seemed to be the one 
thing essential to make my trip the greatest possible success. 
My friend Taylor, who had just beaten me for the Open 
Championship at St. Andrews, had himself come over to the 
States, and was also a candidate for the premier honours of 
American golf. As it turned out, we had practically the 
whole contest at Wheaton to ourselves, and a rare good 
duel it was, at the end of which I was at the top of the list, 
but only two strokes in front of my English opponent, while 
he was eight in front of the next man. The system of de- 
ciding the championship was the same as on this side, that 
is to say, four medal rounds were played, two on one day 
and two on the next. At the end of the first day's play I 
was just one stroke better than Taylor, my score for the two 
rounds bring 157 to his 158, and on the second day I did 
156 to his 157, so that on the whole event I was 313 to his 
315. Taylor waited on the edge of the green while I holed 
out my last putt, and was the first to grasp my hand in 
sincere congratulation. Beautiful weather, the biggest golf- 
ing crowd ever seen in America up to that time, and a good 
links, made the tournament a great success. The partner 
who went round with me during this championship com- 
petition was Will Smith, the holder, who finished fifth. 

I had some curious experiences in the course of my 
journeyings about the country, and I am not sure that they 
were all good for my game. During the early months I was 
down in Florida away from the cold and the snow. I met 
some good golfers there. It was necessary to play an en- 
tirely different game from that to which we are accustomed in 
this country. There was no grass on the putting " greens." 
They were simply made of loose sand, sprinkled on the 
baked ground and watered and rolled. When there was a 
16 



S42 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

shortage of water and there was wind about, the fine part of 
the sand was blown away, and the surface of the " greens " 
then consisted of nothing but little pebbles. It was not 
easy to putt over this kind of thing, but I must not convey 
the impression that these sand " greens " were wholly bad. 
When properly attended to they are really nice to putt upon 
after you have become accustomed to them. It was impos- 
sible to pitch on to them, and one had to cultivate the 
habit of running up from a very long distance. Thus I got 
into the way of playing a kind of stab shot. The tees con- 
sisted not of grass but of hard soil, and one had to tee up 
much higher than usual in order to avoid damaging the sole 
of the driver. This provoked the habit of cocking the ball up, 
and as a corrective all the teeing grounds in Florida sloped 
upwards in front. Locusts were responsible for eating all 
the grass away from some courses, and I had a unique 
experience when I played Findlay at Portland. When we 
were on the putting greens, men had constantly to be beat- 
ing sticks to keep the locusts off the lines of our putts. If 
it struck a locust the ball would come to a sudden stop. 
Acres and acres of land about there were without a single 
blade of grass. The locusts had eaten it all away. After 
we left Florida we reached some good courses, and resumed 
the old kind of play. It has often been suggested that the 
peculiar conditions of play in America, to which I was sub- 
jected for a long period, resulted in a permanent injury to 
my game as played at home, and in the light of reflection 
and experience I am persuaded to think that this is so. I have 
played well since then, have felt equal to doing anything 
that I ever did before, and have indeed won the Champion- 
ship, but I think I left a very small fraction of my game in 
the United States. 

In the way of other novel experiences I might mention 
that on one occasion I played as " Mr. Jones." I wanted a 
quiet day, and did not wish a too attentive public to know 
where I was. Three friends joined me in a foursome, but 



GOLF IN AMERICA 245 

when we went into the club-house after our game, another 
anxious golfer went up to my partner when I was standing 
by, and inquired of him whether he had heard that Vardon 
was playing on the links. My friend declared that he knew 
nothing of such a rumour, and I could hardly refrain from 
laughter as the anxious one went to pursue his inquiries in 
other quarters. Another time two other professionals and 
myself visited a course where we were unknown, and, hiding 
our identity, pretended that we were novices at the game, 
and begged of our caddies to advise us as to the best manner 
of playing each shot, which they did accordingly. We de- 
liberately duffed most of our strokes at several holes, but this 
course of procedure tired us immensely, and so at last we 
abandoned it and began to play our natural game. Imagine 
the consternation and the indignation of those caddies! 
Each one of them threw down his bag of clubs, and, declin- 
ing to carry them for another hole, walked sulkily off the 
course. On one occasion we camped out for the night on 
the links on which we were playing, and a very pleasant 
variation from the ordinary routine we found it. 

The American newspapers, to which I have frequently 
referred, do their golf reporting very well. Their journalism 
may be " sensational " or whatever you like to call it, but 
the golfing section of it was usually interesting, ingenious, 
and very intelligent and reliable. On the occasion of one 
match in which I played, a paper gave up nearly the whole 
of one of its pages to a large panoramic view of the links. 
The flight of my ball and that of my opponent, and the 
places where they stopped after every stroke, from the first 
to the last, were accurately marked. Thus the whole game 
was illustrated in a single picture in a very effective manner. 
As was inevitable, I was sometimes victimised by inter- 
viewers who wrote " interviews " with me which I had never 
accorded, containing most amazing particulars about my 
methods and habits. Occasionally a reporter was turned 
on to describe a game when he knew nothing about golf, 



244r THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

and then the results were sometimes amusing. One of these 
writers had it that I " carried away the green with my drive." 
Another said I " dropped dead at the hole." When playing 
at Washington against two opponents, I happened to beat 
bogey at the first hole. One of the reporters was told of 
this achievement, but did not quite understand it. Going 
to the next hole, we were walking through a bunker when 
he came up to me and politely inquired if that — the bunker 
— was the kind of bogey that I had beaten. I was told a 
very good story of American golf reporting. A match was 
arranged between two well-known amateurs, one of whom 
happened to be a very rich banker. One reporter, who 
admitted that he " knew nothing about the darned game," 
arrived rather late on the course, and borrowed the " copy " 
of an experienced golfing journalist for information of what 
had already happened. When this "copy" was duly re- 
turned with thanks, the late-comer remarked to his obliging 
friend, " Say, you made a bad mistake in one part." " What 
was it ? " the other asked. " Waal, you say that So-and-so 
Mipped the hole for a half.'" "Yes, that is right." "Oh, 
go away ; you don't mean to tell me that a rich man like 
that would be playing for a paltry fifty cents. I've altered 
it to * lipped the hole for a hundred dollars.' " And I re- 
member that once when I was playing the best ball of two 
amateurs, one of the reporters had been instructed by his 
chief to keep the best ball score. I happened to lose the 
match on the last green, but on looking through the paper 
the next morning I was surprised to see it stated that I was 
beaten by not one but many holes, making this defeat in 
fact the biggest inflicted on me during my tour. The paper 
said that it was. I could not make anything out of it for 
some time, until at last I discovered that the reporter had 
reckoned my score also in the best ball figures ! Obviously I 
could not beat myself. The best I could do was to get a half, 
and that was how it came about that I never won a single hole 
in the " Harry Vardon v, Harry Vardon and two others" match, 



CHAPTER XXII 
CONCERNING CADDIES 

Varieties of caddies — Advice to a left-handed player — Cock-shots at Ganton — 
Unearned increments — An offer to carry for the fun of the thing — The 
caddie who knows too much — My ideal caddie — His points — The girl 
caddie — A splendid type — Caddies' caustic humour — Some specimens of 
it — Mr. Balfour's taste in caddies — When the caddie is too anxious — Good 
human kindness — "Big Crawford!' — *' Lookin' aifter Maister Balfour" — 
An ingenious claim — A salute for the Chief Secretary — A story of a dis- 
tressed clergyman — Sandy Smith — The clothes he wore — An excess of zeal 
— ^The caddies' common-sense — When his lot is not a happy one. 

THE caddie is an indispensable adjunct to the game of 
golf, and for the most part he fulfils his functions very 
capably ; but there are caddies of every imaginable variety, 
and their vagaries are such as to cause wonderment on the 
part of their employers sometimes, amusement at others, and 
not infrequently exasperation. Some of them know too 
much about the game, and others far too little, and I hardly 
know which of these classes is in the long run the worse for 
the golfers who engage them to carry their clubs. 

An incident of which I heard that happened to a well- 
known player on the North Berwick links, must have been 
very trying to him. On a busy day all the regular caddies 
had been engaged, and the fishermen were drafted into the 
club-carrying service. The player, having asked one of 
these fishermen if he knew anything about the game, and 
having been informed that he had only a little knowledge 
of it, resigned himself calmly to the inevitable, and told 
the man complacently that he would do. This player 

245 



246 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

happened to be left-handed, and took up his stance on the 
first tee accordingly, whereupon the son of the sea at once 
adopted the part of tutor, and with some warmth and show 
of contempt exclaimed loudly, "I dinna ken much aboot 
the game, but ye dinna ken a wee bit. Mon, ye're standing 
on the wrong side of the baw ! Awa' to the other side ! " 
Golfers at the beginning of a round are proverbially suscep- 
tible to small influences, and when a player is accustomed 
to lean somewhat upon his caddie, as even some of the best 
occasionally do, I can well imagine that such a trivial matter 
as this is enough to mar a tee shot. 

There were some strange specimens of the caddie species 
at Ganton when I was there. " Make a tee, boy," said a 
golfer to one of them, evidently a novice, one day. The 
player had been waiting about for something under a minute, 
while his servant showed no sign of making the usual pre- 
parations for the tee shot. The boy did not seem to under- 
stand. " Make a tee, boy," exclaimed the player a second 
time sharply, but still there was no response, and then the 
man called for some sand, bent down and made the tee 
himself. At this the boy attributed the failure of his under- 
standing to the player's limited powers of expression, and 
somewhat scornfully exclaimed, " Why, if you had told me 
it was a cock-shot that was wanted, I should have known 
what you meant ! " On competition days at Ganton we 
had often to secure a number of lads who had never seen 
the game played before, and very interesting specimens of 
the youth of Yorkshire they often were. One day, I re- 
member, a competitor pulled his ball very badly, and his 
caddie, who had gone on a little way in front, received it 
hard on a very tender part of his head. He was not seri- 
ously hurt, but much pained, and forthwith, excusably 
perhaps, he gave way to tears. To soothe him his em- 
ployer presented him with half a sovereign. The tears 
suddenly ceased, the boy's face broke into a happy smile, 
and a moment later, when the two were trudging away 



CONCERNING CADDIES M7 

towards the hole, the youngster ingenuously inquired, " Will 
you be coming out again this week, sir ? " 

There is a kinship between this story and that of the 
caddie at North Berwick, son of the greenkeeper there, some 
years ago, when first he began to carry clubs. He was 
a very precocious little fellow, and the player for whom he 
had been engaged to carry for the day was a well-known 
golfer from the south. When the day's play was far 
advanced, and the time of reckoning was drawing nigh, 
the boy seized an opportunity of sidling close up to his 

patron and asking him, " D'ye ken Bob S ? '* the said 

Bob being one of the notabilities of the links. The player 
answered that he had not the pleasure of Mr. Robert's 
acquaintance so far, and inquired of the boy why he asked 
such a question. " Weel," was the answer, " it's a peety ye 

dinna ken Bob S . He's a rale fine gentleman, for he aye 

gies twa shillin' a roond for carryin' till 'm ; no like some 
that ca' themsels gentlemen, an' only gie a shillin'." 

But lest it should be imagined from the recital of these 
incidents that the caddie is invariably over-greedy, and that 
he has no soul for anything but the pecuniary reward of 
his service, let there by way of contrast be told the story of 
the boy who was willing to carry clubs for nothing — the one 
solitary instance of such a disposition to self-sacrifice that 
there is on record. This time the golfer was not a great 
one. He had his faults, and they were numerous, and for 
their conquest and suppression he came to the conclusion 
that it would be better if he went out alone over the links 
and wrestled with them determinedly. A caddie watched 
him going out thus solitary, and felt sorry, so he said to him, 
" I will carry your clubs for a shilling, sir." But the golfer 
replied, " No, my boy, not to-day, thanks ; I will carry them 
myself." The golfer missed his drive, foozled his second, 
put his third into a bunker, and endured other agonies. The 
caddie had been following at a respectful distance, and when 
the ball had been duly picked up out of the bunker, he made 



248 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

a further appeal. " I will carry for ninepence, sir." " No, I 
do not want a caddie," was the answer again. " I will carry 
for sixpence, then." " No, go away." On the next tee the 
player, overcome by conflicting emotions, missed the ball 
altogether two or three times, and then was the caddie's 
opportunity, which he seized without hesitation. " I will 
carry for the fun of the thing, sir ! " 

This IS a digression, but I fear that digressions are 
inevitable when one enters upon the subject of caddies, and 
is persuaded to dip into one's recollection of caddie stories. 
The ignorant caddie is trying, but not less is the one who 
knows too much about the game, or thinks he does, and 
insists upon inflicting his superior knowledge upon you 
during the whole course of the round. Once when I was 
playing for the Championship, my clubs were carried by 
a caddie who swore horribly at me all the time, notwithstand- 
ing that from the beginning I was going strongly for the 
first place. That boy got on my nerves. I was approaching 
well, but my putting was certainly not so sure and confident 

as it might have been. "What the is the good of 

shooting at the flag if you can't putt worth a d ! " 

he exclaimed in great disgust on one occasion when I had 
the misfortune to miss holing out a somewhat short putt. 
He has begged to be allowed to carry for me many times 
since then, but I have steadfastly refused his offer, for I 
would not be handicapped with him upon any consideration. 
The caddie I like best of all, and he who I am convinced is 
the best servant for the average golfer, is he who thoroughly 
understands the game, has a deep knowledge of the course 
that is being played over, knows exactly what club to give 
you upon any and every occasion, and limits his functions 
to giving you that club without being asked for it. This 
caddie is a silent caddie, who knows that words of his are 
out of place, and that they would only tend to upset his 
master's game. It will generally be found that he, above all 
others, is the one who takes a deep and sympathetic interest 



CONCERNING CADDIES 249 

in that game. He never upon any consideration gives 
advice without being asked for it. On the other hand, 
he takes care that no act or omission of his shall ever cause 
his man the most momentary irritation, for he has sufficient 
knowledge of the golfer's temperament to know that these 
trifles are a constant source of bad holes. When the player 
is preparing for his shot, and his eye is wandering anxiously 
between the ball and the hole, he puts out his hand whilst 
still continuing his survey of the ground, and as he puts it 
out he feels it grasp the handle of the exact club that is 
wanted. There is little need to look at it. The caddie knew 
and acted. The stance is taken while the player is still in 
his thoughtful mood, the shot is made while his mind is still 
concentrated to the utmost extent on the difficult task in 
hand, and then, after a happy result, the player and this 
faithful, truly sympathetic caddie go quietly on their way. 
When you are on the green he never needs to be told to go 
to the pin. He is always there, standing at the hole as soon 
as the time has come to putt ; and while, if the putt is a poor 
thing, he has nothing to say (for silence is more than ever 
welcome at such a time of sorrow and disappointment), he 
permits himself a few courteous words of congratulation if 
a great success has been achieved at the last stroke at the 
hole, and the crown been placed upon an effort that has 
been truly praiseworthy throughout. This is my ideal 
caddie, and I am prepared to make some concessions to 
have him always at my side during the most trying rounds 
that I have to play. If he always performs the duties I have 
named, promptly and quietly, I do not care whether he 
really knows much about the game or not. If a caddie does 
the round of a course often enough in the company of good 
golfers, he knows the club to use for every particular stroke, 
even though he may have no practical knowledge of the game, 
and I ask nothing more of him than that he should always 
hand that club to me without keeping me waiting for a single 
moment. These caddies are a rarer species than the others. 



250 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

I am no advocate of female labour, but I have often, 
after an experience of the girl caddie, been tempted to wish 
that there were more of them in the land, for they are un- 
commonly good. The little girl of humble lot seems, nine 
times out of ten, to possess all those qualities which go 
to the making of a good caddie — according to my standard 
of a good caddie — in a remarkable degree. Unlike some of 
her elder sisters, she never talks ; but she always watches the 
game very closely and takes a deep interest in it. She is 
most anxious — if anything too anxious — to do her service 
properly and well, and to the most complete satisfaction of 
the gentleman who will reward her for it at the finish. She 
never keeps you waiting for your bag. The clubs are always 
there at your hand. If it is obvious to this little girl's simple 
intelligence that you want your brassy, she has it ready for 
you. If there is a doubt about the club, she does not make 
the mistake of offering you one on chance, as it were. She 
is too timid for that. She holds the bag before you and lets 
you choose yourself and carry all the responsibility on your 
own shoulders. The good boy caddie, whom I have referred 
to as my ideal, does that also. I said he was always waiting 
with the club ready, but if it is evident to him, as to the 
player, that it is a difficult question of judgment as to which 
particular club should be taken in somewhat puzzling cir- 
cumstances, he allows the golfer to make his choice from the 
whole collection in the bag, making no suggestion of his 
own either by word or movement, unless invited to do so. 
Cannot every golfer recall numberless instances of bad shots 
and holes lost because in one of these moments of doubt, 
when his own inclination was leaning to the employment of 
one particular club, his caddie thrust another before him? 
Feeling that there must be something good in the caddie's 
recommendation, he has been tempted in spite of himself 
to use it. How frequently are the consequences disastrous 
in such circumstances as these, and how unenviable are 
the golfer's after reflections upon his own weakness ! Yes, 



CONCERNING CADDIES 251 

decidedly the girl caddie excels. I have seen her on many 
links up and down the country, and she is always good. In 
one of my last matches last season — at Luton — I had one to 
carry for me, and she was as good as any. Perhaps it may 
be urged by some players that it is not a good thing for 
girls to do this work. About that I have nothing to say. I 
only know that they do their duty well. 

A peculiarly caustic but half-unconscious humour is the 
characteristic of caddies everywhere, but particularly in the 
north, and while golfers continue to lack absolute perfection, 
and their ministering attendants to expect it from them 
every time, it will probably remain a characteristic. A fair 
specimen was the remark of his caddie to a player whose 
handicap was several strokes removed from scratch, and who, 
having become badly bunkered on one occasion, tried nearly 
every iron club in his bag in a vain endeavour to get out. 
The case was heartbreaking, and he turned despairingly to 
his caddie with the question, " What on earth shall I take 
now?" There was little encouragement in the answer, 
"Take the 4.5 train." There is a good story also of a 
certain Welshman of title who became enthusiastic over the 
game, though he did not excel at it. He conceived that it 
would be a good thing to make a tour of the famous Scottish 
courses with the object of improving his play, and in due 
season he arrived at a certain famous green, where he em- 
ployed as his caddie an individual who had a considerable 
reputation for blunt candour. The turf suffered severely 
every time this player made use of his irons, and the caddie 
shook his head gloomily and sadly as he witnessed the 
destructive work that went on daily. At last there came a 
day when he could stand it no longer, and when the Welsh- 
man had taken a mighty swipe at the ball with a heavy iron 
and made a deep excavation for several inches behind it, the 
club carrier moaned painfully, " O lord, man, hae mercy on 
puir auld Scotland 1 " It is said that the golfer played no 
more on those links. It was on this same course that two^ 



252 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

players went out one morning to play, and found a friend 
waiting alone on the first tee, who said that he had fixed 
up a match with a certain Captain Blank, who would be 
coming along presently. The possibility of a foursome was 
considered, and a question was asked as to what kind of a 
player the Captain was, his partner replying, "Oh, he is 
excellent. He drives a good ball, plays his irons well, and 
is exceedingly useful at the short game; in fact, he is a 
first-rate all-round man." Expecting confirmation of this 
eulogium, he turned to his caddie and said, " You know the 
Captain's play well enough. Now, what sort of a player 
would you say he is?" The caddie replied scornfully, 

"Captain Blank! He canna play a shot worth a d . 

He's nae better than yoursel' ! " 

The fact is that no player is great in the eyes of his 
caddie, for on one occasion when two gentlemen who were 
very fair hands at the game were doing a round and being 
closely pressed by a couple behind, who seemed to be 
driving inordinately long balls, one of them observed that 
perhaps they had better let them go through as they seemed 
to be playing both well and quickly. " Na, na, naething o' 
the kind," interposed one of the caddies. " They're just twa 
duffers like yersels!" And great eminence in other fields 
counts for nothing with the caddie if his man cannot golf in 
good style. There is the story told by Mr. Balfour of the 
distinguished general, hero of many battles, who, having duly 
found his way into his twentieth bunker, was startled by a 
cry of irritation from his caddie, " Come, come, old gentle- 
man, this will never do!" This great statesman - golfer 
relates another anecdote showing that caddies are much the 
same the whole world over. An English golfer was playing 
at Pau and had a French caddie attending upon him. He 
made one particularly fine approach shot, and, as golfers will 
at such times, he turned round to the boy with excusable 
vanity for applause. But the boy's English vocabulary so 
far comprised only two words which he had heard uttered 



CONCERNING CADDIES 263 

on several occasions, but the sense of which he did not under- 
stand. Feeling sure, however, that they must be appropriate 
to this occasion, and desiring to be appreciative, he smiled 
pleasantly into the golfer's face and murmured, "Beastly 
fluke!" Mr. Balfour, by the way, has a particular and 
decided taste in caddies, for he has written that he can 
gladly endure severe or even contemptuous criticism from 
them ; can bear to have it pointed out to him that all his 
misfortunes are the direct and inevitable result of his own 
folly ; can listen with equanimity when failure is prophesied 
of some stroke he is attempting, and can note unmoved the 
self-satisfied smile with which the fulfilment of the prophecy 
is accentuated; but ignorant and stupid indifference is in- 
tolerable to him. The caddie, in the statesman's opinion, is 
not, and ought not, to be regarded as a machine for carrying 
clubs at a shilling a round, but rather occupies, or ought to 
occupy, the position of competent adviser or interested 
spectator. The caddie ought to be as anxious for the 
success of his side as if he were one of the players, and 
should watch each move in the game with benevolent if 
critical interest, being always ready with the appropriate 
club, and, if need be, with the appropriate comment. 

But I don't like to see this anxiety for the success of 
one's fortunes upon the links carried to excess. It is then a 
disturbing factor, and its humorous aspect does not always 
appeal to one as it should. Some golfers might be flattered 
when they come to know that their caddies have backed 
them to the extent of half the remuneration they will receive 
for carrying the clubs for the round. It is a touching ex- 
pression of the caddie's belief in them. But after all this 
kind of thing does not help to make a good caddie. Apart 
from other considerations, it does not make the boy carry 
any the better because he is over-anxious about the result of 
the match, and, though some golfers might be inclined to 
ridicule the suggestion, it nevertheless is a disturbing element 
in one's game if one knows that even the caddie will be very 



254 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

deeply concerned if every stroke does not come off just as 
well as it ought to do. The caddie is not above letting you 
know of his wager ; sometimes he will even tell you of it. 
Two golfers of some Highland celebrity were playing a 
match one day at Lufifness, and after a hard round they 
came to the eighteenth tee all square and but this one hole 
to play. At this critical stage of the game the caddie of one 
of them approached his master and nervously whispered to 
him, " Please, sir, wad ye do your very best here, for there's 
money on this match." And the golfer did try to do his 
very best indeed, but he pressed and he foozled, and he lost 
the hole and the match. Sympathetically he turned to his 
caddie to ask him what was the amount of the lost wager 
that he might pay it for him and soften his disappointment. 
" It was a penny, sir," said the boy. 

But despite his constant sarcasm and his utter inability to 
tolerate anything except the very best in golf, there is after 
all much good human kindness in your caddie if he is worthy 
of the name. " Big Crawford " will always be remembered 
as a fine specimen. On the day when Mr. A. J. Balfour 
played himself into the captaincy of the Royal and Ancient 
club, a gentleman who was looking on, and who was well 
acquainted with the fact that when Mr. Balfour was in 
Ireland as Chief Secretary he never played a round of any of 
the Irish links without having plain-clothes detectives walk- 
ing fore and aft, inquired very audibly, " Is there no one 
looking after Mr. Balfour now ? " " Big Crawford " was 
carrying for him that day, and he heard the question. He 
turned with a look of severe pride towards the quarter 
whence it came, and answered it as loudly, " Aw'm lookin' 
aifter Maister Balfour." There was nothing more to be said. 
The chief of the Conservatives has certainly an enormous 
popularity with the caddies. He so evidently loves his golf 
so much, and he has great sympathy with them. He bears 
amiably with their weaknesses. He was one day playing 
a match with Tom Dunn, who was his tutor, at North 



CONCERNING CADDIES «55 

Berwick, and by a mixture of skill and luck was enabled 
to hole out at " Pointgarry out " in two. It happened that 
he received a stroke from Dunn at this hole, and the caddie 
ingeniously pointed out to him that he was thus entitled to 
consider that he had done the hole in one. " How excel- 
lent ! " he said. But in the same breath the caddie begged 
leave to remind him that it was customary for all good 
golfers to celebrate the performance of this particular feat by 
the bestowal of some special token upon their caddies. Mr. 
Balfour was amused. He tantalised the boy by observing 
that rather than that he should have to pay anyone for 
watching him do these great things, he surely ought to 
receive remuneration from all spectators for doing them. 
The boy felt that there was truth in this new view of things, 
and a sad look was stealing over his face, when the right 
honourable gentleman handed over to him the customary 
fee. Another time on the links, two officers, a Colonel and a 
Major, were playing in front of Mr. Balfour and his partner, 
when the latter were courteously invited to go through so 
that their enjoyment of the round would not be interfered 
with by any waiting. At the moment when Mr. Balfour 
was passing the others, he was surprised to hear a word of 
command called out by the Colonel's caddie, who happened to 
be a Lucknow veteran. " Attention ! Eyes front ! Shoulder 
arms ! Present arms ! " And thereupon each of the caddies 
took from his bag a driver and with it presented arms in 
proper soldierly style, Mr. Balfour, who was Chief Secretary 
at the time, smiling with pleasure at the interesting com- 
pliment and acknowledging the salute. He has a remark- 
able memory for the caddies who have served him, and once, 
when on the tee, just about to engage in a foursome, he 
recognised one of his opponents' caddies as a boy who on 
a former occasion had carried his own clubs, and he nodded 
to him kindly. Naturally the caddie was immensely pleased, 
and turning to one of his colleagues he remarked, " Ye see 
hoc we Conservatives ken ane anither ! " 



256 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

Another instance of the deep humanity of " Big Craw- 
ford," whom I have just mentioned, occurred on one occasion 
when he was carrying for an Edinburgh clergyman, who, 
in going for the Redan, had the misfortune to be badly 
bunkered, his ball, in addition to the other difficulties of the 
situation, lying in a deep heel mark. He was palpably in 
great agony of mind, all the greater in that he never uttered 
a word. Crawford crept quietly to his side and whispered 
gently, " What a peety ! What a peety ! But gin an aith 
wad relieve ye, sir, dinna mind me, dinna mind me ! " and 
thereupon he discreetly retired for some little distance. 
Sandy Smith, another famous caddie, was one day carrying 
for a player who had the good fortune to be no fewer than 
six holes up on his opponent by the time the eighth hole 
was reached. At this green, something having gone wrong 
with the reckoning of the strokes, there was a mild dispute 
as to whether the hole had been won by Sandy's man or 
whether it had been halved. Eventually it was agreed that 
it was halved, but as the players moved away to the next 
tee, he who was six down being out of earshot in front, his 
opponent remarked to Sandy, " You know, Sandy, I still 
think I won that hole after all." Sandy seemed shocked at 
such a cold-blooded greed for holes, and reprovingly, very 
seriously, and sharply said to his employer, " Haud yer 
tongue, sir; haud yer tongue. Wad ye break the man's 
heart ? " Sandy used to remark that " the finest gowffer on 
the green was Maister Edward Blyth," and it was not until 
he had expressed this opinion with an almost wearying 
frequency that his hearers suspected that there was some 
connection between his choice and the fact, which he ad- 
mitted one day, that *'his auld claes fits me best." Ap- 
parently he had the measure of every player on the course. 
"I'm wantin' a word wi' ye, Mr. Blyth," he said to his 
favourite one day. " What is it, Sandy ? " " It's no' muckle, 
sir ; it's jist this, ye ken. I'm wantin' an auld suit o' claes 
frae ye ; ye're the only man hercaboot that'll fit me." But 



CONCERNING CADDIES 257 

apparently there were others, for one day when a player for 
whom he was carrying asked him if he knew the Lord 
Justice-Clerk, who happened just then to be passing in a 
foursome, Sandy replied, " That's Lord Kingsbury, ye mean. 
O ay, he's a great freen' o' mine. Naebody kens his lordship 
better nor me. Thae's his breeks I've on." 

Golfers should, I think, sometimes be on their guard lest 
a too kind-hearted caddie, in an excess of zeal for his 
employer, should be tempted to transgress the laws of the 
game, or depart from strict truthfulness in his behalf Some- 
times it is done with a wonderful air of innocence and 
simplicity. Caddies have been known, when their employers 
have been in doubt as to exactly how many strokes they 
have played at certain holes, to give an emphatic, but none 
the less untruthful declaration, on the side of fewness. They 
mean well, but mistakenly, and it is better for everybody 
concerned, but particularly for the caddies, that they should 
be severely reprimanded when there is reason to doubt their 
good faith. 

And who shall say that another, and for our purposes the 
final characteristic of the average caddie of experience, is not 
a wonderful amount of solid worldly common-sense of a 
variety specially adapted to golf? And what golfer is there 
who has not at one time or another had the advantage of 
it ? But he may at the time have been unconscious of the 
assistance. There is the historic case of the caddie on the 
Scottish links who warned a beginner, dallying too much 
on the tee, that he "maunna address the ba' sae muckle." 
Forthwith the southern tyro, greatly exasperated at his own 
failures, burst out, " So far as I know I haven't said a word to 
the infernal thing, but the irritation of this beastly game is 
enough, and if I have any more of your confounded tongue 
you may repent it ! " Then the caddie murmured to himself, 
" I dinna like 'is look. I'll better get 'm roond as pleesant 
as possible." Could any advice have been more delicately 
worded than that of the caddie to the stout clergyman who 
17 



258 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

with all his strength made a most mighty swing at his ball 
on the tee with the usual result — a foozle? "It'll nae do, 
sir ; ye ken ye canna drive as far as that." " Wha — wha — 
what do you mean by such a remark ? As far as what ? " 
gasped the reverend but irate gentleman. " I jist mean, sir, 
that ye canna drive as far as ye wad like." 

Perhaps we shall never hear the best caddie stories, for 
is it not likely that a great abundance of them are made 
and told in the sheds after the day's play is over, and when 
the golfer's tools are being wiped and cleaned, and his irons 
burnished to a beautiful brightness? It is then that the 
caddie is in his happiest vein, his tongue and disposition un- 
trammelled by the presence of the club members. " What 're 
ye doin' cleanin' them clubs so grand ? " asked one caddie of 
another, who was evidently bestowing unusual pains on 
the polishing of the set that were in his keeping. The 
caddie was in a thoughtful mood. He was the regular 
attendant of an old golfer who had had a most disastrous 
day. " I'm to clean 'em better than ever," he answered. 
"And when I've cleaned 'em I've got to break 'em across 
my knee. And then I've got to chuck 'em in the bloomin' 
river." Sometimes, we see, if he is a simple-hearted, faithful 
caddie, his lot is not a happy one. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS 

Good golf to come — Giants of the past — The amateurs of to-day — The greatness 
of "Freddy" Tait — Modern professionals — Good sportsmen and good 
friends — A misconception — The constant strain — How we always play our 
best — Difficult tasks — No "close season" in golf — Spectators at big 
matches — Certain anecdotes — Putting for applause — Shovelling from a 
bunker — The greatest match I have ever played in — A curious incident — 
A record in halves — A coincidence — The exasperation of Andrew — The 
coming of spring — The joyful golfer, 

I THINK that every good golfer of experience reflects 
upon his past history with mingled pleasure and sorrow 
— pleasure when he calls to mind all the many glorious 
matches in which he has taken part, and sorrow when the 
thought arises that all that golf has been played and done 
with, and can never be played again. But we have all this 
abiding consolation, that even if we cannot retain our very 
best form to the end of our days, we can hope still to play 
a good game to the finish, and there is the heroic example 
of rare old Tom Morris to stimulate us in this hope. Much 
is given to golfers, — perhaps more than to the participators in 
any other sport, — but they are rarely satisfied. The wonder- 
ful fascination of golf is indicated in this eternal longing for 
more. Sometimes when I glance over the records of the 
history of the game, I feel a twinge of regret that it was not 
possible for me to play with, or even to see, such giants 
of the past as Allan Robertson, David Strath, the Dunns, 
Willie Campbell, Willie Park, senior, or the famous young 
Tom Morris. Golf is great to-day, but it must have been 

259 



fteo THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

great in those days also, even if there was less of it than 
there is now. 

But I have had the good fortune to play with all the 
well-known amateurs and professionals of my own time, and 
it is pleasant to think that they are nearly all still alive, and 
that therefore I may sometime or another play with them 
again. There is one great exception — Mr. Fred Tait, who 
was killed in South Africa. I don't think anyone could ever 
have the smallest doubt about the reason for his enormous 
popularity. I had the delight of playing against him two 
or three times, and I thought that he was not only a very 
fine golfer indeed, but one of the very finest gentlemen 
that I could imagine. It is something for me to remember 
that I played in the last important match in which he 
figured before he went out to the war — an international 
foursome, England v. Scotland, that was played at Ganton, 
Willie Park and Mr. Tait representing Scotland, while Mr. 
John Ball, junior, and I were for England. From all the 
amateurs with whom I have ever come in contact I havs 
always received the very greatest kindness and encourage- 
ment, and i do not know a single one with whom I would 
not like to play again some day or other. It has always 
seemed to me that there is something about golf that makes 
a man a good fellow whether he is amateur or professional. 

I wish to speak in the same way about my professional 
brothers as I have done about the amateurs. I have always 
found them all first-class sportsmen in the strictest and best 
sense of the word, and some of the best friends I have in 
the world are among them. There are some very fine 
players among the professionals of to-day. I have often 
watched and greatly admired the splendid skill of such 
friends and constant opponents as J. H. Taylor, James 
Braid, Alexander Herd, Jack White, and many others whose 
names would fill a page, not forgetting my own brother 
Tom. I have from time to time been indebted to many of 
them for various acts of kindness. There is a fine spirit of 



REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS 261 

freemasonry amongst us professionals. Whenever we play 
against each other each of us does his level best to win, and 
gives no quarter with a single stroke, but it has been my 
invariable experience that when the match is over the loser 
is always the first to congratulate the winner, and to do it 
not as a mere matter of form but with the very utmost 
sincerity. 

And here I should like to say a few words with the 
object of removing a misconception which still seems to 
linger in the minds of followers of the game. " Dear me, 
Vardon, what a grand time you fellows have, travelling all 
over the country in this manner, and doing nothing but 
playing golf on the very best courses," is the kind of remark 
that often greets me when I have just returned from play- 
ing in one match or tournament, and am due to start for 
another in a day or two. But I am not sure that we have 
such a grand time as those who say these things seem to 
think. We enjoy it just because we enjoy everything con- 
nected with golf, and particularly the playing of it ; but 
playing these exhibition matches is not quite the same 
thing as going away for the week-end and having a quiet 
round or two with a friend, however hard you may try to 
beat him. Some people entertain a fancy that we do not 
need to strain ourselves to the utmost in these engagements, 
and that therefore we take things easily. I can answer for 
myself, and I am sure for all my brother professionals, that 
we never take things easily, that we always play the very 
best golf of which we are capable, and that if a champion- 
ship rested on each match we could not play any better. It 
must be remembered that when we are invited by any club 
to play an exhibition match, that club expects to see some 
golf, and thus it happens that the fear of a great responsi- 
bility is always overhanging us. We dare not play tricks 
with such reputations as we may have had the good fortune 
to obtain. We are always well aware that there are very 
good golfers in the crowd, who are watching and criticising 



262 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

every stroke that we make. Therefore we keep ourselves in 
the very best of condition, and do our utmost always to 
play our best. How difficult is our task when sometimes 
we are not feeling as well as we might wish — as must 
occasionally happen — I will leave the charitable reader to 
imagine. Has he ever felt like playing his best game when 
a little below par in either mind or body? This is where 
the really hard work of the professional's life comes in. 
There is no "close season" in golf, as in cricket, football, 
and other sports. When a cricketer plays indifferently, 
after two months of the game, his admirers cry out that he 
is stale and needs a rest. But there are eleven players on 
each side in a cricket match, and constant rests for all of 
them, so that to my mind their work is very light in com- 
parison with that of the golfer, who enjoys no " close season," 
and has all the work of each match on his own shoulders. 
Surely he also must become stale, but such a state on his 
part is not tolerated. Again, one often hears that a certain 
match between professional players has been halved pur- 
posely — that is to say, that it was an arranged thing from 
start to finish. Such things may have happened in other 
sports, but take it from me that it never, never happens in 
golf. One man never plays down to another, whatever dis- 
parity there may be in their respective degrees of skill. It 
does not matter how many holes one is up on one's opponent ; 
there is never any slackening until the game has been won. 
It makes no difference if the man you are playing against is 
your very best friend or your brother, and one has some- 
times to pass through the trying ordeal of straining his 
every nerve to win a match when in his heart of hearts, for 
some particular reason, he would like the other man to win. 
I intrude these affairs of our own in these concluding reflec- 
tions only for the purpose of indicating that, though we 
love our game and always enjoy it, professional golf is not 
quite the same thing as that played by amateurs, and must 
not be judged from the same standpoint _ I think it is 



REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS 263 

because of this continual sense of a great responsibility, and 
the custom and necessity of always — absolutely always — 
trying to play our very best game, that the leading pro- 
fessionals are constantly a stroke or two better than the 
most skilful amateurs, even though the latter practise the 
game quite as much, and have apparently just as much 
opportunity, or even more, of making themselves perfect. 

I have mentioned the spectators. I have generally found 
the crowds who follow a big professional match round the 
links both highly intelligent and exceedingly considerate. 
But sometimes we overhear some strange things said. 
Taylor and I were once fulfilling an important engagement 
together, and when my opponent had a particularly difficult 
shot to play, two ladies came up quite close to him and per- 
sisted in talking in a loud tone of voice. Taylor waited for a 
little while in the hope that their chatter would cease, but it 
did not. Then, in a feeling of desperation, he attempted to 
address his ball ; but the task was hopeless. The conversation 
went on more loudly than ever, and he was doomed to certain 
failure if he attempted his stroke in these circumstances. 
So he stood up again, and looked round in the direction 
whence the voices came. " Oh," said one of the ladies then, 
" you can go on now. We've quite finished." We must be 
thankful for small mercies. James Braid and I were once 
playing down at Beckenham. At one of the putting greens 
we were both a long way from the hole. My ball was a 
trifle the more distant of the two, and so I played the odd, 
and managed to get down a wonderfully fine putt. Then 
Braid played the like and holed out also. These were two 
rather creditable achievements with our putters. When his 
ball had trickled safely into the hole, and the spectators were 
moving towards the next tee. Braid and I were amused, but 
not flattered, by the words of a man who was speaking to a 
friend in such a loud voice that we could all hear. " Oh," 
he exclaimed deprecatingly, " those fellows only do that sort 
of thing for the sake of the applause!" How happy we 



264 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

should be if we could always make certain of those long 
putts without any applause at all ! It was with Braid also 
that I was playing in a match at Luton towards the close of 
last year, when I overheard a singular remark. I happened 
to be bunkered at the fourteenth, and took my niblick to get 
out, but lost the hole. We walked on together to the next 
tee, and Braid was taking his stance when we heard two 
gentlemen eagerly discussing and explaining the recent 
bunker incident. Evidently one of them was supposed to 
know something of golf and the other nothing at all. " You 
see," said the former to his friend, " there is really no rule in 
the matter at all. Vardon or any other player could have 
used a shovel in that bunker and have simply shovelled the 
ball over on to the other side." I was surprised that Braid 
got his next tee shot in so well as he did. And how very 
often have I heard the question asked in the crowd, " Why 
do those fellows chalk the faces of their clubs ? " and how 
invariably has the answer been, " So that they can see after- 
wards where they hit the ball ! " When I write my recollec- 
tion of these things, I do not wish it to be imagined that 
I am making any sort of accusation against golf crowds 
generally. They are excellent from all points of view ; 
but it must inevitably happen that there are some people 
among them who know little of the game, and others who 
do not appreciate what a trying ordeal a hard-fought match 
usually is. 

Such questions are often put to me as, " Vardon, what 
was the greatest match in which you ever played?" or, 
"What was the most extraordinary occurrence you have 
ever seen on the links ? " and so forth. They are questions 
which it is difficult to answer, for is not nearly every match 
that we play brimful of incident and interest, and at the 
time do we not regard many of the incidents as most extra- 
ordinary? It would, then, be too serious a task to attempt a 
selection from such a huge mass. But, looking back over the 
last few years, it seems that my ;^ioo match with Willie Park 



REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS 265 

is that which remains uppermost in my mind, and the one 
that I am least likely to forget. There was more talking 
and writing about it than about any other match in which I 
have played. The " gallery " that followed this match was 
the greatest I have ever seen or heard of. And as I am 
questioned also about the curious and the singular in golf, I 
may say that there was a coincidence in this game that 
struck me at the time as being quite unusual. In a closely- 
fought match it is often interesting to notice how nearly 
each player's ball often follows the other. Frequently they 
are side by side within one or two clubs' length after the 
drives from the tee. But in the first stage of this match 
against Park, after he had driven a long ball from the tee at 
the eleventh hole, I drove and my ball pitched exactly on 
the top of his ! The Messrs. Hunter were kindly serving in 
the capacity of forecaddies, and they were both positive 
upon this incident. My ball after striking his rebounded 
slightly, and then stopped dead about two feet behind. Its 
position rather affected my follow-through, so that I duffed 
my stroke and lost the hole. This record — if it was a 
record — was also the means of eclipsing what I believe was 
another record in first-class golf. The first ten holes in this 
match were halved, and it was the incident of which I have 
just been speaking and the duffed stroke that followed it 
that led to the breaking of the sequence. 

" Now, Vardon, how often have you holed out in one ? " 
they ask me also, regardless of the fact that this event 
demands not only a perfect shot but a perfect fluke, and that 
the professional player is no more likely to accomplish it 
than anyone else. Well, I have only been guilty ot this 
fluke on one occasion — and that was not so very long ago — 
and when it happened it was at a hole a little over two 
hundred yards in length. On one occasion, also, I have 
enjoyed the coincidence of holing out with my mashie 
approach at the same hole twice in one day. That was in 
the course of a tournament at Elie, in which I had the good 



^66 THE COMPLETE GOLFER 

fortune to finish first. As it happened, Andrew Kirkaldy, 
who hoped to end high up in the list, was my partner for the 
first round, and it came about also that he was watching me 
play when the holing-out process was accomplished for the 
second time. Then he lifted up his hands in horror and 
delivered himself of his famous remark, "Ye're enough to 
break the heart of an iron ox ! " During the last round of 
this same tournament Andrew, who was playing some holes 
behind me, and was then himself in the running for the first 
place, was kept posted up by a friend as to my score for 
each hole. He did not seem to derive much encouragement 
from the reports, for when the last one was carried to him 
he asked the friend who brought it if he thought that there 
was nobody who could play golf besides Vardon, and in- 
timated at the same time that if anyone else brought him 
any more of those tales he would strike him with his niblick ! 
Of course we all know what a really fine fellow is Andrew 
Kirkaldy, and how much poorer the golf world would be 
without his presence and his constant humour. 

And now I think I have holed out on the last green and 
this long match is finished. After all it is better to play 
golf than to write or read about it. What anticipation is 
more gloriously joyful than that of the man who handles his 
driver on the first tee on a bright morning of the spring-time ! 
He has all the round, and all the day, and all the spring 
and summer and autumn before him. And at this moment 
another spring is breaking brightly, and the golf that is before 
each of us promises to be as momentous and soul-satisfying 
as any that has gone before. 



APPENDIX 

THE RULES OF GOLF 

Authorised by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, revised 
by the Club to September 27, 1904, atid in force at the date of pub- 
lication of this work. 

I. Definitions.— («) The Game of Golf is played by two sides, each 
playing its own ball. A side consists either of one or of two players. 
If one player play against another the match is called a " single." If 
two play against two, it is called a " foursome." One player may play 
against two playing one ball between them, when the match is called a 
" threesome." Matches constituted as above shall have precedence of 
and be entitled to pass any other kind of match. 

((5) The game consists in each side playing a ball from a teeing- 
ground into a hole by successive strokes, and the hole is won by the 
side which holes its ball in fewer strokes than the opposite side, except 
as otherwise provided for in the Rules. If the sides hole out in the 
same number of strokes, the hole is halved. 

if) The " teeing-ground " is the starting-point for a hole, and shall 
be indicated by two marks placed in a line as nearly as possible at right 
angles to the course. 

The hole shall be 4J inches in diameter, and at least 4 inches deep. 

{d) The " putting-green " is all ground within 20 yards of the hole, 
except hazards. 

{e) A "hazard" is any bunker, water (except casual water), sand, 
path, road, railway, whin, bush, rushes, rabbit scrape, fence, or ditch. 
Sand blown on to the grass, or sprinkled on the course for its preserva- 
tion, bare patches, sheep tracks, snow, and ice are not hazards. 
Permanent grass within a hazard is not part of the hazard. 

(/) " Through the green " is any part of the course except hazards 
and the putting-green which is being played to. 

{g) " Out of bounds " is any place outside the defined or recognised 
boundaries of the course. 

(A) " Casual water" is any temporary accumulation of water (whether 



268 APPENDIX 

caused by rainfall or otherwise) which is not one of the ordinary and 
recognised hazards of the course. 

(/) A ball is " in play " as soon as the player has made a stroke at 
the teeing-ground in each hole, and remains in play until holed out, 
except when lifted in accordance with the Rules. 

{j) A ball has "moved" only if it leave its original position in the 
least degree, and stop in another ; but if it merely oscillate, without 
finally leaving its original position, it has not " moved." 

{k) A ball is "lost" if it be not found within five minutes after the 
search for it is begun. 

(/) A " match " consists of one round of the links, unless it be other- 
wise agreed. 

A match is won by the side which is leading by a number of holes 
greater than the number of holes remaining to be played. If each side 
win the same number of holes, the match is halved. 

{m) A " stroke " is any movement of the ball caused by the player, 
except as provided for in Rule 3, or any downward movement of the 
club made with the intention of striking the ball. 

{n) A "penalty stroke" is a stroke added to the score of a side 
under certain rules, and does not affect the rotation of play. 

{0) The "honour" is the privilege of playing first from a teeing- 
ground. 

{p) A player has "addressed the ball" when he has taken up his 
position and grounded his club, or if in a hazard, when he has taken up 
his position preparatory to striking the ball. 

{q) The reckoning of strokes is kept by the terms — " the odd," " two 
more," " three more," etc., and " one off three," " one off two," " the 
like." The reckoning of holes is kept by the terms — so many "holes 
up," or " all even," and so many " to play." 

2. A match begins by each side playing a ball from the first teeing- 
ground. 

The player who shall play first on each side shall be named by his 
own side. 

The option of taking the honour at the first teeing-ground shall be 
decided, if necessary, by lot. 

A ball played from in front of, or outside of, or more than two club 
lengths behind the marks indicating the teeing-ground, or played by a 
player when his opponent should have had the honour, may be at once 
recalled by the opposite side, and may be re-teed without penalty. 

The side which wins a hole shall have the honour at the next teeing- 
ground. If a hole has been halved, the side which had the honour at 
the previous teeing-ground shall retain the honour. 

On beginning a new match, the winner of the long match in the 
previous round shall have the honour, or if the previous match was 
halved the side which last won a hole shall have the honour. 



APPENDIX 269 

3. If the ball fall or be knocked off the tee in addressing it, no 
penalty shall be incurred, and it may be replaced, and if struck when 
moving no penalty shall be incurred. 

4. In a threesome or foursome the partners shall strike off alternately 
from the teeing-grounds, and shall strike alternately during the play of 
the hole. 

If a player play when his partner should have done so, his side shall 
lose the hole. 

5. When the balls are in play, the ball further from the hole which 
the players are approaching shall be played first, except as otherwise 
provided for in the Rules. If a player play when his opponent should 
have done so, the opponent may at once recall the stroke. A ball so 
recalled shall be dropped, in the manner prescribed in Rule 15, as near 
as possible to the place where it lay, without penalty. 

6. The ball must be fairly struck at, not pushed, scraped, nor 
spooned, under penalty of the loss of the hole. 

7. A ball must be played wherever it lies or the hole be given up, 
except as otherwise provided for in the Rules. 

8. Unless with the opponent's consent, a ball in play shall not be 
moved nor touched before the hole is played out, under penalty of one 
stroke, except as otherwise provided for in the Rules. But the player 
may touch his ball with his club in the act of addressing it, provided he 
does not move it, without penalty. 

If the player's ball move the opponent's ball through the green, the 
opponent, if he choose, may drop a ball (without penalty) as near as 
possible to the place where it lay, but this must be done before another 
stroke is played. 

9. In playing through the green, any loose impediment (not being in 
or touching a hazard) which is within a club length of the ball may be 
removed. If the player's ball move after any such loose impediment 
has been touched by the player, his partner, or either of their caddies, 
the penalty shall be one stroke. If any loose impediment (not being on 
the putting-green) which is more than a club length from the ball be 
removed, the penalty shall be the loss of the hole. 

10. Any vessel, wheel-barrow, tool, roller, grass cutter, box or similar 
obstruction may be removed. If a ball be moved in so doing, it may be 
replaced without penalty. A ball lying on or touching such obstruction, 
or on clothes, nets, or ground under repair or covered up or opened for 
the purpose of the upkeep of the links, may be lifted and dropped 
without penalty as near as possible to the place where it lay, but not 
nearer the hole. A ball lifted in a hazard, under such circumstances, 
shall be dropped in the hazard. 

A ball lying in a golf hole or flag hole, or in a hole made by the 
greenkeeper, may be lifted and dropped without penalty as near as 
possible to the place where it lay, but not nearer the hole. 



270 APPENDIX 

11. Before striking at a ball in play, the player shall not move, bend, 
nor break anything fixed or growing near the ball, except in the act of 
placing his feet on the ground for the purpose of addressing the ball, in 
soling his club to address the ball, and in his upward or downward 
swing, under penalty of the loss of the hole, except as otherwise pro- 
vided for in the Rules. 

12. When a ball lies in or touches a hazard, nothing shall be done to 
improve its lie ; the club shall not touch the ground, nor shall anything 
be touched or moved before the player strikes at the ball, subject to the 
following exceptions : — (i) The player may place his feet firmly on the 
ground for the purpose of addressing the ball ; (2) in addressing the 
ball, or in the upward or downward swing, any grass, bent, whin, or 
other growing substance, or the side of a bunker, wall, paling, or other 
immovable obstacle, may be touched ; (3) steps or planks placed in a 
hazard by the Green Committee for access to or egress from such 
hazard may be removed, and if a ball be moved in so doing, it may be 
replaced without penalty ; (4) any loose impediments may be removed 
from the putting-green ; (5) the player shall be entitled to find his ball 
as provided for by Rule 31. The penalty for a breach of this Rule 
shall be the loss of the hole. 

13. A player or caddie shall not press down nor remove any irregu- 
larities of surface near a ball in play. Dung, worm-casts, or mole-hills 
may be removed (but not pressed down) without penalty. The penalty 
for a breach of this Rule shall be the loss of the hole. 

14. (i) If a ball lie or be lost in water or in casual water in a 
hazard, a ball may be dropped in or as far behind the hazard as the 
player may please, under penalty of one stroke ; but if it be impossible 
from want of space in which to play, or from any other cause, to drop 
the ball behind the hazard, the player may drop a ball at the side of the 
hazard as near as possible to where the ball lay, but not nearer to the 
hole, under penalty of one stroke. (2) If a ball lie or be lost in casual 
water through the green, or if casual water through the green interferes 
with the player's stance, the player may drop a ball, without penalty, 
within two club lengths from the margin directly behind the place 
where the ball lay, or from the margin nearest to the place where the 
ball lay, but not nearer to the hole. If the ball when dropped roll into 
the water, or rest so that the water interferes with the player's stance, it 
may be re-dropped, without penalty, as near to the margin as the nature 
of the ground permits, but not nearer to the hole. (3) In dropping a ball 
behind the spot from which the ball was lifted, the player shall keep 
that spot, or, in the case of water, the spot at which the ball entered, in 
a line between himself and the hole. Wherever it is impossible to drop 
a ball as prescribed in sections (i) and (2), it shall be dropped as near 
as possible to the place where it lay, but not nearer to the hole. (4) If 
a ball lie in casual water on a putting-green, a ball may be placed by 



APPENDIX ^1 

hand behind the water without penalty. The penalty for a breach of 
this Rule shall be the loss of the hole. 

15. A ball shall be dropped in the following manner: — The player 
himself shall drop it. He shall face the hole, stand erect and drop the 
ball behind him from his head. If the ball when dropped touch the 
player he shall incur no penalty, and if it roll into a hazard it may be 
re-dropped without penalty. The penalty for a breach of this Rule 
shall be the loss of the hole. 

16. When the balls lie within six inches of each other on the putting- 
green, or within a club length of each other through the green or in a 
hazard (the distance to be measured from their nearest points), the ball 
nearer the hole may, at the option of either the player or the opponent, 
be lifted until the other is played, and shall then be replaced as near as 
possible to the place where it lay. If the ball further from the hole be 
moved in so doing, or in measuring the distance, it shall be replaced 
without penalty. If the lie of the lifted ball be altered by the player 
in playing, the ball may be placed in a lie as nearly as possible similar 
to that from which it was lifted, but not nearer the hole. 

17. Any loose impediments may be removed from the putting-green, 
irrespective of the position of the player's ball. The opponent's ball 
may not be moved except as provided for by the immediately preceding 
Rule. If the player's ball move after any loose impediment lying within 
six inches of it has been touched by the player, his partner, or either of 
their caddies, the penalty shall be one stroke. 

18. When the ball is on the putting-green, the player or his caddie 
may remove (but not press down) sand, earth, dung, worm-casts, mole- 
hills, snow, or ice lying around the hole or in the line of his putt. This 
shall be done by brushing lightly with the hand only across the putt 
and not along it. Dung may be removed by a club, but the club must 
not be laid with more than its own weight upon the ground. The line 
of the putt must not be touched, except with the club immediately 
in front of the ball, in the act of addressing it, or as above authorised. 
The penalty for a breach of this Rule is the loss of the hole. 

19. When the ball is on the putting-green, no mark shall be placed, 
nor line drawn as a guide. The line of the putt may be pointed out by 
the player's caddie, his partner, or his partner's caddie, but the person 
doing so must not touch the ground. 

The player's caddie, his partner, or his partner's caddie, may stand 
at the hole, but no player nor caddie shall endeavour, by moving or 
otherwise, to influence the action of the wind upon the ball. 

The penalty for a breach of this Rule is the loss of the hole. 

20. When on the putting-green, a player shall not play until his 
opponent's ball is at rest, under penalty of one stroke. 

21. Either side is entitled to have the flag-stick removed when 
approaching the hole, but if a player's ball strike the flag-stick which 



27^ APPENDIX 

has been so removed by himself, or his partner, or either of their 
caddies, his side shall lose the hole. If the ball rest against the flag- 
stick when in the hole, the player shall be entitled to remove the stick, 
and if the ball fall in, it shall be deemed as having been holed out at 
the last stroke. If the player's ball knock in the opponent's ball, the 
latter shall be deemed as having been holed out at the last stroke. If 
the player's ball move the opponent's ball, the opponent, if he choose, 
may replace it, but this must be done before another stroke is played. 
If the player's ball stop on the spot formerly occupied by the opponent's 
ball, and the opponent declare his intention to replace, the player shall 
first play another stroke, after which the opponent shall replace and 
play his ball. If the opponent's ball lie on the edge of the hole, the 
player, after holing out, may knock it away, claiming the hole if holing 
at the like, and the half if holing at the odd, provided that the player's 
ball does not strike the opponent's ball and set it in motion. If after 
the player's ball is in the hole, the player neglect to knock away the 
opponent's ball, and it fall in also, the opponent shall be deemed to have 
holed out at his last stroke. 

22. If a ball in motion be stopped or deflected by any agency outside 
the match, or by the forecaddie, the ball must be played from where it 
lies, and the occurrence submitted to as a " rub of the green." If a ball 
lodge in anything moving, a ball shall be dropped as near as possible to 
the place where the object was when the ball lodged in it, without 
penalty. If a ball at rest be displaced by any agency outside the match, 
excepting wind, the player shall drop a ball as near as possible to the 
place where it lay, without penalty. On the putting-green the ball shall 
be replaced by hand, without penalty. 

23. If the player's ball strike, or be moved by an opponent or an 
opponent's caddie or clubs, the opponent shall lose the hole. 

24. When a player has holed out and his opponent has been left 
with a putt for the half, nothing that the player can do shall deprive him 
of the half which he has already gained. 

25. If a player's ball strike, or be stopped by himself or his partner, 
or either of their caddies or clubs, his side shall lose the hole. 

26. If the player, when not intending to make a stroke, or his 
partner, or either of their caddies, move his or their ball, or by touching 
anything cause it to move when it is in play, the penalty shall be one 
stroke. If a ball in play move, after the player has grounded his club 
in the act of addressing it, or, when in a hazard, if he has taken up his 
stand to play it, he shall be deemed to have caused it to move, and the 
movement shall be counted as his stroke. 

27. Except from the tee a player shall not play while his ball is 
moving, under penalty of the loss of the hole. If the ball only begin to 
move while the player is making his upward or downward swing, he 
shall mcur no penalty for playing while it is moving, but is not exempted 



APPENDIX 273 

from the penalty stroke which he may have incurred under Rules 
9, 17, or 26, and in a foursome a stroke lost under Rule 26 shall not, 
in these circumstances, be counted as the stroke of the player so as 
to render him liable for having played when his partner should have 
done so. 

28. If the player when making a stroke strike the ball twice, the 
penalty shall be one stroke, and he shall incur no further penalty by 
reason of his having played while his ball was moving. 

29. If a player play the opponent's ball, his side shall lose the hole, 
unless (i) the opponent then play the player's ball, whereby the penalty 
is cancelled, and the hole must be played out with the balls thus 
exchanged, or (2) the mistake occur through wrong information given 
by the opponent or his caddie, in which case there shall be no penalty, 
but the mistake, if discovered before the opponent has played, must be 
rectified by placing a ball as near as possible to the place where the 
opponent's ball lay. 

If a player play a stroke with the ball of a party not engaged in the 
match, and the mistake be discovered and intimated to his opponent 
before his opponent has played his next stroke, there shall be no 
penalty ; but if the mistake be not discovered and so intimated until 
after the opponent has played his next stroke, the player's side shall lose 
the hole. 

30. If a ball be lost, except as otherwise provided for in the Rules, 
the player's side shall lose the hole ; but if both balls be lost, the hole 
shall be considered halved. 

31. If a ball lie in fog, bent, whins, long grass, or the like, only so 
much thereof shall be touched as will enable the player to find his ball ; 
but if a ball lie in sand, the sand shall not be touched. The penalty for 
a breach of this Rule shall be the loss of the hole. 

32. If a ball be played out of bounds, a ball shall be dropped at the 
spot from which the stroke was played, under penalty of loss of the 
distance. A ball played out of bounds need not be found. 

If it be doubtful whether a ball has been played out of bounds, 
another may be dropped and played ; but if it be discovered that the first 
ball is not out of bounds, it shall continue in play without penalty. 

A player may stand out of bounds to play a ball lying within 
bounds. 

33. A player shall not ask for advice from anyone except his own 
caddie, his partner, or his partner's caddie, nor shall he willingly be 
otherwise advised in any way whatever, under penalty of the loss of the 
hole. 

34. If a ball split into separate pieces, another ball may be put 
down where the largest portion lies ; or if two pieces are apparently 
of equal size it may be put where either piece lies, at the option of 
the player. If a ball crack or become unfit for play, the player 

18 



274 APPENDIX 

may change it on intimating to his opponent his intention to do so. 
Mud adhering to a ball shall not be considered as making it unfit 
for play. 

35. When no penalty for the breach of a rule is stated, the penalty 
shall be the loss of the hole. 

36. If a dispute arise on any point, the players have the right of 
determining the party or parties to whom it shall be referred, but should 
they not agree, either side may refer it to the Rules of Golf Committee, 
whose decision shall be final. If the point in dispute be not covered by 
the Rules of Golf, the arbiters must decide it by equity. 

37. An umpire or referee, when appointed, shall take cognisance of 
any breach of rule that he may observe, whether he be appealed to on 
the point or not. 

SPECIAL RULES FOR STROKE COMPETITIONS. 

1. In Stroke Competitions, the competitor who holes the stipulated 
course in fewest strokes shall be the winner. 

2. If the lowest scores be made by two or more competitors, the tie 
or ties shall be decided by another round to be played on the same 
day. But if the Green Committee determine that to be inexpedient or 
impossible, they shall then appoint the following or some subsequent 
day whereon the tie or ties shall be decided. 

3. New holes shall be made for Stroke Competitions, and thereafter 
before starting no competitor shall play on any of the' putting-greens, 
nor shall he intentionally play at any of the holes nor on to any of the 
putting-greens, under penalty of disqualification. 

4. The scores for each hole shall be kept by a special marker, or by 
the competitors noting each other's scores. The scores marked ought 
to be called out after each hole, and on completion of the round the 
cards shall be signed by the marker, under penalty of disqualification, 
and handed in. Competitors must satisfy themselves before the cards 
are handed in that their scores for each hole are correctly marked, as 
no alteration can be made on any card after it has been returned. If it 
be found that a score returned is below that actually played, the com- 
petitor shall be disqualified. For the addition of the scores marked the 
Secretary or his deputy shall be responsible. 

5. If a competitor play from outside the limits of the teeing-ground, 
the penalty shall be disqualification. 

6. If a ball be lost (except as otherwise provided for in the Rules of 
Golf), the competitor shall return as near as possible to the spot from 
which the lost ball was struck, tee a ball, and lose a penalty stroke. 
The lost ball shall continue in play, if it be found before the player has 
struck another ball. The penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be 
disqualification. 



APPENDIX 275 

7. If a competitor's ball strike himself, his clubs or caddie, the 
penalty shall be one stroke. 

8. If a competitor's ball strike another competitor, or his clubs or 
caddie, it is a " rub of the green," and the ball shall be played from 
where it lies. If a competitor's ball which is at rest be moved by 
another competitor or his caddie, or his club or his ball, or by any 
outside agency excepting wind, it shall be replaced as near as possible 
to the place, where it lay without penalty. 

9. A competitor shall hole out with his own ball at every hole, under 
penalty of disqualification. But if it be discovered, before he has struck 
off from the next teeing-ground, or if the mistake occur at the last hole, 
before he has handed in his card, that he has not holed out with his 
own ball, he shall be at liberty to return and hole out with his own ball, 
without penalty. 

10. A ball may be lifted from any place under penalty of two strokes. 
A ball so lifted shall be teed if possible behind the place where it lay. 
If it be impossible to tee the ball behind the place where it lay, it shall 
be teed as near as possible thereto, but not nearer the hole. The penalty 
for a breach of this Rule shall be disqualification. 

11. All balls shall be holed out under penalty of disqualification. 
When a competitor's ball is within 20 yards of the hole, the competitor 
shall not play until the flag has been removed, under penalty of one 
stroke. When both balls are on the putting-green, if the player's ball 
strike the opponent's ball the player shall lose a stroke. The ball 
nearer the hole shall, on request of the player, be either lifted or holed 
out at the option of the owner, under penalty of his disqualification. 
Through the green a competitor may have any other competitor's ball 
lifted, if he find that it interferes with his stroke. 

12. A competitor, unless specially authorised by the Green Com- 
mittee, shall not play with a professional, and he may not willingly 
receive advice from any one but his caddie, in any way whatever, under 
penalty of disqualification. 

A forecaddie may be employed. 

13. Competitors shall not discontinue play or delay to start on 
account of bad weather, nor for any other reason whatever, except such 
as is satisfactory to the Committee of the Club in charge of the com- 
petition. The penalty for a breach of this Rule is disqualification. 

14. Where in the Rules of Golf the penalty for the breach of any 
Rule is the loss of the hole, in Stroke Competitions the penalty shall be 
the loss of two strokes, except where otherwise provided for in these 
Special Rules. 

15. Any dispute regarding the play shall be determined by the Rules 
of Golf Committee. 

16. The Rules of Golf, so far as they are not at variance with these 
Special Rules, shall apply to Stroke Competitions. 



276 APPENDIX 

RULES FOR THREE-BALL MATCHES. 

In matches in which three players play against each other, each 
playing his own ball (hereinafter referred to as "a three-ball match"), 
or in which one player plays his own ball against the best ball of two 
players (hereinafter referred to as " a best ball match "), the Rules of 
Golf shall apply, subject to the following modifications : — 

1. Where, m a three-ball match, at any teeing-ground no player is 
entitled to claim the honour from both opponents, the same order of 
striking shall be followed as at the previous teeing-ground. 

2. Except as hereinafter provided, the side whose ball is furthest 
from the hole shall play first, but a ball lying nearer the hole and 
belonging to one of that side may, at their option, be played before the 
ball lying furthest from the hole. If a player play when his opponent 
should have done so he shall incur no penalty. 

3. If a player consider that an opponent's ball on the putting-green 
might interfere with his stroke, he may require the opponent either to 
lift or to hole out his ball at the opponent's discretion. 

4. If an opponent consider that the ball of another opponent might 
be of assistance to the player, he may require that it be either lifted or 
holed out at the other opponent's discretion. 

5. If an opponent consider that his own ball might be of assistance 
to the player, he is entitled to lift it or hole out at his discretion. 

6. If an opponent consider that the player's partner's ball might be 
of assistance to the player, he may require that it be either lifted or holed 
out at the player's partner's discretion. 

7. In a three-ball match, a ball on the putting-green, which is 
moved by another ball, must be replaced as nearly as possible where 
it lay. 

8. In a best ball match, if a player's ball move his partner's ball or 
an opponent's ball, the opponent shall in either case decide whether the 
moved ball shall be replaced or not. 

9. If in a three-ball match a player's ball strike or be moved by an 
opponent or an opponent's caddie or clubs, that opponent shall lose the 
hole to the player. As regards the other opponent, the occurrence is " a 
rub of the green." 

10. In a best ball match, if a player's ball strike or be moved by an 
opponent or an opponent's caddie or clubs, the opponent's side shall lose 
the hole. 

11. In a best ball match, if a player's ball (the player being one of a 
side) strike or be stopped by himself or his partner or either of their 
caddies or clubs, that player only shall be disqualified for that hole. 

12. In all other cases where a player would by the Rules of Golf 
incur the loss of the hole, he shall be disqualified for that hole, but the 
disqualification shall not apply to his partner. 



APPENDIX 277 

ETIQUETTE OF GOLF. 

1. A single player has no standing, and must always give way to 
a properly constituted match. 

2. No player, caddie, or onlooker should move or talk during a 
stroke. 

3. No player should play from the tee until the party in front have 
played their second strokes and are out of range, nor play up to the 
putting-green till the party in front have holed out and moved away. 

4. The player who has the honour from the tee should be allowed to 
play before his opponent tees his ball. 

5. Players who have holed out should not try their putts over again 
when other players are following them. 

6. Players looking for a lost ball must allow other matches coming 
up to pass them. 

7. On request being made, a three-ball match must allow a single, 
threesome, or foursome to pass. Any match playing a whole round 
may claim the right to pass a match playing a shorter round. 

8. If a match fail to keep its place on the green, and lose in distance 
more than one clear hole on those in front, it may be passed, on request 
being made. 

9. Turf cut or displaced by a stroke should be at once replaced. 

10. A player should carefully fill up all holes made by himself in 
a bunker, 

11. It is the duty of an umpire or referee to take cognisance of any 
breach of rule that he may observe, whether he be appealed to on this 
point or not. 



INDEX 



Addressing the ball, 62, 81, 171, 173. 

Alps at Prestwick, 222. 

Amateur Championship. See Champion- 
ship. 

Amateur golf in Great Britain, 233, 234. 

America, golf in, 232, 234 ; tour in, 
235 ; spectators in, 238 ; novel ex- 
periences in, 242, 243, 244. 

American Championship, 23, 235, 241. 

Anson, American baseball player, and 
golf, 240. 

Approach play. Su Mashie, play with 
the. 

Arms, action of the, in driving, 67, 69, 
72. 

Ashbumham links, 227. 

Auchterlonie, Willie, 13, 15. 

Backward swing in the drive, 65, 68, 

173, 174. 
Baffy, possibilities of play with, 83 ; 

stance for, 83. 
Balfour, Mr. A. J., how he learned golf, 

30 ; anecdotes by, 252 ; preference in 

caddies, 253; and "Big Crawford," 

254 ; interesting compliment, 255. 
Ball, clean, 170; rubber-cored. See 

Rubber-cored balls. 
Ball, Mr. John, jun., 223, 234, 260. 
Beckenham, incident at, 263. 
Beginners, advice to, 25. 
Bf ginning, Vardon's, at golf, 2, 4 ; first 

clubs, 5 ; first matches, 6 ; how he 

learned, 8. 
Bervnck, North, 17, 21, 225, 245, 247, 

254. 
"Big Crawford," 254. 
Birth, Vardon's, 2. 
Blyth, Mr. Edward, 256. 
Body action in following through, *J\. 
Boomer, Mr. (Schoolmaster), 3. 
Boots and shoes, 167. 
Braces and belts, 166. 
Brae Burn, match at, 235. 



Braid, James, 96, 260, 263, 264. 

Brancaster links, 228. 

Brassy, play with in Championship, 23. 

— the, points of, 44, 49, 79. 

— play with the, first attempts, 32 ; 
occasion for, 78 ; stance for, 79, 80 ; 
from good lie, 80 ; from cuppy lie, 
80, 81. 

Brewster, Mr., at Jersey, 4. 

Broad wood, Mr. C. C, 21. 

Brown, D., 14. 

Bunkers and bunker play, 131 ; mistakes 
in regard to, 133 ; swing with niblick 
in, 136 ; long balls firom, 138 ; filling 
holes in, 175. 

Bury Golf Club, professional to, 12. 

Butcher, Mr. S. F. (Bury), 12. 

Caddie, advice of, 171 ; opponent's, 175 ; 
anecdotes of, 245 et seq. ; the ideal, 
248 ; girls as, 249 ; caustic humour 
of, 250; human kindness of, 254; ex- 
cess of zeal of, 257 ; sorrows of, 258. 

Campbell, Willie, 259. 

Care of clubs, 50. 

Carnoustie, merits of course, 225. 

Championship, the Amateur, 233, 234. 

— the American, 23. 

— the Open, 3, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 
23, 248. 

Cleek, the, varieties of and character- 
istics, 46, 49, 99. 

— play with the, first attempts, 33 ; 
versatility of, 99 ; stance, 103; swing, 
104 ; push shot with, 105 ; shot for 
low ball against wind, 108 ; com- 
parison of different shots, 108. 

Clothes for golf, 166. 

Clubs, golf (implements), 37 ; first pur- 
chases, 38 ; limitations, 40 ; care of, 
50; for different strokes, 168; ex- 
periments in competitions, 184. 

Competition play, disappointments in, 
177 ; steadiness in, 178 ; continuing 



280 



INDEX 



with card, 179; tactics in, 181; 
caution in medal play, 182 ; new 
clubs, 184; time of play, 186; watch- 
ing opponents, 187. 

Counting strokes, 167. 

Course, stud3dng in competition play, 
183 ; construction of. See Links, 

Cox, Mr. Charles S., 240* 

Cricket, 3. 

Cromer links, 228. 

Crowds, great golfing, 21. 

Cruden Bay links, 225. 

Cupped lies, play from, 81. 

Cut stroke, the, with the mashie, 127. 

Deal, tournament at, 15; merits of links 
at, 228. 

** Debauchery of long driving," 52. 

Despair, golfer's, 26. 

Diagrams, explanation of, 57. 

Divots, replacing, 175. 

Dogwood heads, 42. 

Dollymount links, 226. 

Dornoch links, 225. 

Driver, the, points of, 40 ; scared and 
socketed clubs, 41 ; heads of, 42 ; 
length and weight, 49, 53 ; loft on 
face of, 54. 

— play with, first attempts, 32 ; long 
balls with, 35, 36, 52, 75 ; pleasure 
of, 53 ; stance, 55, 56, 57 ; the grip, 
58 ; the address, 62 ; backward swing, 
64 ; follow-through, 71 ; faulty driv- 
ing, 72 ; summary of advice, 77 ; in- 
tentional puUing and slicing with, 85. 

Dunn, Tom, 22, 30, 254, 259. 

Dunn, Willie, 236, 237. 

Dwelling at the turn, 68. 

Etiquette of golf, 161, 164, 165, 175, 

277. 
Excuses, golfer's, 26. 
Experiments in golf, 172. 
Eye on the ball, how and where to keep, 

63, 65, 169. 
Eyesight, defective, 174. 

Faces, artificial, to wooden clubs, 42. 
Findlay, American golfer, 242. 
Finish of swing, 72, 173. 
Florida, golf in, 236, 241. 
Follow-through, the, in the drive, 71. 
Football at Ganton, 3. 
Formby links, 228. 
Foursomes, partners in, 171 ; old style, 

188 ; four-ball, 189 ; tactics in, 190 ; 

sociability of, 191 ; mutual under- 



standing in, 192 ; junior partner in, 
193 ; handicapping in, 195 ; classical 
story of, 196. 

Freaks of style, 62. 

Frosty weather, play in, 167. 

Ganton, professional at, 15 ; match with 
Willie Park at, 22 ; caddies at, 246 ; 
international foursome at, 260. 

Gloves, 168. 

Greens, putting, gauging strength of, 
158 ; etiquette and policy on, 165 ; 
damaging, 175. 

Grips, Vardon's overlapping, 59; the 
two-V, 59; tightness of, 60; thick- 
ness of handle, 168. 

Grouville, 2 ; golf introduced to, 3. 

Gullane links, 226. 

Hands, right and left, grip with, 
59, 60, 6i ; variations of tightness, 
61. 

Harlech, links at, 227. 

Head still, keeping the, 65, 172. 

Herd, Alexander, 12, 14, 15, 260. 

Hilton, Mr. Harold, 234. 

Himalayas at Prestwick, 222. 

Hints, general, 160. 

Hoods for golf-bags, 50. 

Hoylake, merits of course, 223 ; best 
holes at, 224. 

Huddersfield links, 231. 

Hunstanton links, 228. 

Hunter, the brothers, 21, 265. 

Huntercombe links, merits of, 230, 

Ilkley, 14. 

Impact, moment of, 69, 70. 

Improving one's game, 163. 

Inland golf, 229. 

Ireland, links in, 226 ef seq. 

Iron, the, points of, 47, 49, 113. 

— play with the, first attempts, 33 ; 

time for, 113; stance for, 114; swing, 

115; relation of swing to distance, 

116. 
Islay, splendid links at, 225 ; most 

difficult hole, 226. 

Jersey, golf at, 2, 4. 
Jersey Golf Club, Royal, 4. 
Jigger, the, use of, 130. 

Kay, James, 17. 
Kilmalcolm, tournament at, 13. 
Kilspindie links, 226. 
Kingsbury, Lord, 257. 



INDEX 



281 



Kirkaldy, Andrew, 13, 14, 19, 142, 

266. 
Kirkaldy, Hugh, 13, 14. 

Ladies, faults of, 71 ; freedom on links, 
198 ; improvement of ladies' play, 
199 ; keenness of American, 200 ; 
good pupils, 201 ; same game as 
men's, 201 ; swing for, 201 ; clubs 
for, 202 ; bad upward swings, 203 ; 
need for tuition, 204. 

Lahinch links, 226. 

Laidlay, Mr. J. E., 223. 

Lawrence Harbour (U.S.), match at, 

237. 

Leach, Henry, vi. 

Learn golf, how to, 25. 

Leather faces, 42. 

Length of clubs, 48, 49. 

Lie of clubs, 45. 

Lindrick links, 231. 

Links, on construction of, 205; made 
in a hurry, 205 ; long handicap men's 
links, 206; time and study needed, 
206 ; maturing of, 206 ; land required 
for, 207 ; preliminary survey of, 208 ; 
clearing of land, 209 ; " penny wise 
and pound foolish,'* 209 ; experi- 
mental drives, 210 ; short holes, 210 j 
varieties of holes, 211 ; too lengthy, 
212 ; direction of course, 213 ; posi- 
tion of bunkers, 213 ; class of player 
to suit, 213 ; bunkers at the side, 
215 ; undulating greens, 216; double 
tees, 217 ; the best hnks, 219 ^/ seq. ; 
superiority of Sandwich, 220. 

Littlestone links, 228. 

Lloyd, Joseph, 15. 

London links, 230. 

Long heads, 43. 

Lowe, George (St. Anne's-on-Sea), 9, 
10. 

Luffness links, 226, 254. 

Lunch, golfer's, 169. 

Luton, incident at, 264. 

Machrihanish links, 225. 

Maiden at Sandwich, 222. 

Manchester links, 231. 

Mashie, the, points of, 47, 49, 119. 

— play with the, first attempts, 33, 
value of good, 119 ; varieties of, 120 ; 
stance for ordinary shot, 121 ; the 
swing, 122 ; danger of scooping, 
124; taking a divot, 124; the run- 
ning-up shot, 125 ; the cut stroke, 
127 ; stance for, 128 ; points of, 129 ; 



chip on the green, 129 ; the jigger, 
130 J mashie on the putting greer^ 

155. 

Mashie, the driving, 49, 100. 

play with, icx); difficulties of, 

loi. 
Master stroke in golf, 85. 
Match play, 171, 172, 180. 
Medal play, 178, 181, 182, 183 ; rules, 

274. 
Middle-aged golfers, 29. 
Mid-Surrey links, 230. 
Molesworth, Mr. , at Jersey, 7. 
Money matches, 22. 
Morris, Old Tom, 22, 23, 149. 
Morris, Young Tom, 23, 259. 
Mount Zion at Islay, 226. 
Muir field, first Championship at, 16, 

19; merits of course and best holes, 

224. 

Nails in boots and shoes, 166. 

Nervousness, 9, 12. 

Newcastle (co. Down) links, 226. 

Newquay links, 228. 

Niblick, the, points of, 47, 49, 135 ; 

swing with, in bunker, 136. 
NichoUs, Bernard, matches with, 235, 

239. 
North Berwick. See Berwick, North. 
Novelties, avoidance of, 168. 

Oakland (U.S.), 237. 
Oiling clubs, 50. 
One-armed golfer, 27. 
Open Championship. See Champion- 
ship. 
Opponent, one's attitude towards, 161. 
Ormonde, match at, 235. 
Over-golfed, 186. 
Overlapping grip, 59. 

Park, Willie, senior, 259. 

Park, WilUe, junior, 20, 21, 148, 230, 

260, 264. 
Pau, visit to, 15. 
Persimmon heads, 42. 
Photographs, vi. 
Pivoting of the body, on the waist, 

67. 
— on the toes, 68. 
Pleasures of golf, i, 29, 32, 53, 266. 
Point Comfort, match at, 236. 
Pointgarry out, Mr. Balfour at, 255. 
Portland (U.S.), novel experience at, 

242. 
Portmarnock, merits of links, 226. 



282 



INDEX 



Portrush, tournament at, 13 ; merits of 

links, 226. 
Practice, early system of, 32 ; amount 

of, 35. 

Pressing, 75, 173. 

Prestwick, 13, 20, 23; best holes at, 
222. 

Professional golfers, money matters, 
22 ; difficulties of, 261. 

Professional tuition, 30. 

Pulling, causes of, 67, 71, 73, and 
Plates X. and XI. ; method of 
intentional, 91 j in a cross wind, 
92. 

Purves, Dr., at Jersey, 7. 

Push shot, the, 105 ; advantage of, 
106. 

Putter, the, points of, 47, 49, 146. 

Putting, a curious experience, 18 ; 
first attempts, 33 ; confidence in, 
142 ; no rule for, 143 ; the natural 
stance, 144 ; the grip, 147 ; hitting 
the ball, 148 ; the swing, 148 ; on 
being up, 148 ; on undulating greens, 
150; borrowing from slopes, 151; 
the cut stroke, 152 ; down steep 
inclines, 154; use of mashie, 155; 
playing stymies, 156 ; running 
through, 157; gauging strength of 
greens, 158; etiquette and policy, 
165. 

Redan, the, 256. 

Redcar links, 228. 

Regrets, golfer's, 28. 

Reserve clubs, 45. 

Ribbed faces to iron clubs, advantages 

of, 102. 
Ripon, golf at, 10. 
Risks, on taking, 162. 
Robertson, Allan, 22, 259. 
Rubber-cored balls, life of, 170. 
Rules of golf, 167, 267. 
Running-up approaches, 125. 
Rye links, 228. 

St. Andrews, 15 ; merits of course and 
best holes, 224. 

— style of play, 64. 

St. Anne's links, 228. 

St. David's, Royal, links, 227. 

St. George's Golf Club, Royal, Sand- 
wich, 3. 

Sandwich, 3, 14, 23 ; the best course, 
220; reasons for selection, 221 ; best 
holes at, 221, 222. 

Sandy Parlour at Deal, 228. 



Sayers, Ben, 18, 19. 

Scared clubs, advantage of, over 
socketed, 41. 

Scarsdale (U.S.), match at, 236. 

Scotland, links in, 222 et seq. 

Seaside courses, advantages of, 229. 

Seaton Carew links, 228. 

Shafts of clubs, 43. 

Sheffield links, 231. 

Sheringham links, 228. 

Shoes, golfing, 166. 

Shoulder, right, movement of, 66; 
dropping, 74. 

Simpson, Archie, 15. 

Skidding with iron clubs, 102 ; with 
driver, 168. 

Slicing, cause of, 67, 69, 72 ; how to 
find, 73, Plate XII. ; method of 
intentional, 87 ; distant slice, %^ \ 
short slice, 89. 

" Slow back," 64. 

Smith, Will, American champion, 238, 
241. 

Smoking, on, 185. 

Spectators at golf matches, 263. 

Speed of the club, 69. 

Spoffijrth, Major (Jersey), 9. 

Spoon. See Bafify. 

Strath, David, 259. 

Stroke competitions, rules for, 274. 

Studley Royal Golf Club, Ripon, pro- 
fessional to, I r. 

Stymies, playing, 156; running through, 

Successes in competitions, 9. 
Sunningdale links, merits of, 229. 
Swaying during stroke, 67. 
Swinging, first attempts at, 31. 

Tait, Lieut. Fred, 21, 223, 234, 260. 
Taylor, J. H., 15, 16, 240, 241, 260, 

263. 
Tee, the, for the ball, 54 ; disadvantage 

of high tee, 55 j low tee with wind, 

172. 
Teeing grounds, 217. 
Three-ball matches, 276. 
Tightness of grip, 61. 
Tobacco and golf, 185. 
Trafford Park links, 23 1. 
Training, on, 185. 
Travis, Mr. Walter J., 233. 
Troon, merits of course, 225. 
Turf, replacing, 175. 
Two-V grip, 59, 62. 

Upward swing. See Backward swing. 



INDEX 



V, two-, grip, 59, 62. 
Vardon family, the, 2. 
Vardon, Fred, 3. 

Vardgn, Tom, 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, 17, 23, 
260. 

Waggling the club, 63. 
Wales, hnks in, 227. 
Wallasey links, 228. 
Walton Heath links, merits of, 229. 
Washington (U.S.)j match at, 244. 
Weather, wet, care of clubs in, 50, 
16& 



Weight of body, how balanced, 67, 70. 

Weight of club, 44, 49. 

Westward Ho ! merits of links, 227. 

Wheaton links at Chicago, 238, 241. 

Whip of shafts, 43, 44. 

White, Jack, 260. 

Wind, play in a, 92; pulling in a 

cross, 94 ; driving against, 95 ; 

driving with, 96; low tee with, 172. 
Wrists, action of the, 66, 70. 
— mistaken notions concerning, 70. 

Yorkshire championships, 231. 



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